Never Let Me Go
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: Trouble lurks around the corner for the team, while Tony and Natalie try to balance their professional lives and their relationshp. Sequel to "Carry Me Through", Tony/OC centric, other characters involved.
1. Unannounced Visit

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS or the characters. Those belong to CBS/Show creators. Only thing I can lay claim to is Natalie Callahan.

 **Warnings:** Tony/OC centric, AU, series spoilers

 **A/N:** This story is going to start off with my introduction to Senior in the verse. More of darker version of "Broken Arrow" if you will. Right now it is rated "T" but, well, that probably will change at some point lol. As always your reviews/comments are appreciated! Hope you enjoy the sequel to _Carry Me Through!_

* * *

 **Never Let Me Go**

Rain was hammering the east coast of the United States. It had been for the last three days, making the city of Washington, D.C feel like a virtual ghost town with no one on the streets. With the weather forcing everyone indoors, NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was looking forward to a quiet evening at home.

He had a fire going in the fireplace and his girlfriend, his partner, Natalie Callahan snuggled in his arms while they listened to some jazz music and the rain against the windows after having some Chinese take out for dinner. He liked these quiet evenings, the ones where they lounged around in front of fires or watched movies—there was something normal and real about it.

Tony had been thrilled when they were given the weekend off. The team had been working around the clock for the last two weeks, domestic terrorists, a mentally ill Naval Intelligence officer driven to her own death... and Abby having a hard time accepting that perhaps the young woman had been off her rocker... not to mention in the middle of all that Tony and Natalie were trying to regain their footing in their relationship.

Fighting with her had thrown him into a tailspin. It brought memories of his parents' arguments, memories of the fights with Wendy before she had split, and he did not want a repeat of that relationship. Running had been natural to him. Hiding had been natural for her and they'd both done a fairly decent job of hurting each other.

Natalie sighed and burrowed into his arms, her eyes starting to slip shut. It had been a long week and she was exhausted.

Tony kissed her temple and whispered, "This is nice. I wish we got more time for this."

"Mmmmm, that's why we need to savor this," she said, smiling up at him sleepily. "Being federal agents doesn't allow a lot of time for the small things in life."

"I'll say," he agreed, kissing her temple again. "When was the last time we were home before seven?"

Snuggling deeper into his embrace, Natalie smiled. "A long time ago. My dad always did say that crime doesn't stop just because the workday clock has. It was also one of my mom's arguments when I decided to become a cop—all those hours, you'll never have time for a family," she recited.

Sighing, he pondered her words. Tony tightened his hold around her and buried his nose in her hair. "Do you... ever think about having a family?" he asked her, honestly, wanting to know the answer desperately.

Natalie shifted once more and looked up into his eyes. She could see him contemplating, wondering what her answer would be. "Yes. Some day I'd like to have a family. Just because I'm a federal agent doesn't mean I cannot have a baby."

Tony was conflicted about having kids, while he often wondered what kind of father he would make, or if he even wanted to be one—he wasn't sure that a child should live in a world where _both_ parents worked a dangerous job. "I know that... but would you really want to come back to being shot at on a regular basis after having a baby?"

"Are you worried about our hypothetical children becoming orphans?"

"Yes. Aren't you?"

She rose up slightly and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. Pulling back, Natalie smiled at him, softly. "I think that it's cute you're so worried about the kids that we don't even have yet. It's actually rather sweet."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't just worry about those kids we don't have, Nat—I worry about you too. Actually, I think I worry about you the most. It would kill me if you got hurt or killed on the job."

Natalie tensed, only slightly though. "I worry about that happening to you too."

Tony kissed her. "Well, then it's decided then... you'll just have to wear a vest twenty-four hours a day if we have a baby."

"Well that's going to make breast feeding extremely interesting," she teased.

"Maybe we can invent a breast feeding friendly bulletproof vest," he teased back.

"Oh... I bet _that_ will be a hit."

"It will make us a fortune and neither one us will have to work in law enforcement ever again."

Natalie sat up and pushed away from him, gently. She rested her hands on his chest and studied him for a moment. In the last few weeks since their argument and almost ending their relationship they had been much more open with one another. This was the first time she realized that he wanted to have children, that he thought about having a child with her... She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Someday... I think you're going to be a great father... and I find it... endearing that you're already so protective of your unborn children."

Tony tucked her hair behind her ears. He had never really thought about being a father until she came into his life and their relationship had gotten serious. He grinned at her, softly. "Then here's to _someday_ ," he whispered, pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

She sighed, happily, but instead of snuggling back into his arms, she got up and went into the kitchen. "I think it's time for that chocolate cake we bought."

He threw a sly smile at the kitchen. "Do I get to feed it to you? Or were you thinking of perhaps... eating it off my stomach?"

"You would like that wouldn't you?" Natalie inquired with a little twinkle in her eye as she stepped back into the living room with two slices of chocolate cake.

"I would like that _very_ much," Tony tossed at her, matching that twinkle in her eyes.

"Well then... come and get it," she teased, waving the plate around.

He got up off the floor and walked towards her, a seductive look in his gaze and he took both plates from her hands. Tony placed them on the table and wrapped her into his arms. He kissed her, passionately and edged her towards the blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. He had every intention of making love to her right there, in front of their fire... leaving the cake for afterwards...

She had just slipped his tee shirt over his head when someone shoved a key in his lock and the door was opening. Startled by the interruption, Tony and Natalie flew apart and the senior field agent quickly grabbed his tee shirt and pulled it back on.

The building manager, Larry, was standing there looking rather embarrassed to be have walked in on them. "Er, sorry Tony. Figured you were working... if I had known that you had a date here, I would have told him to find a hotel for the night..."

"Him?" Natalie questioned just as the belligerent drunk could be heard shouting in the hall.

"Son of a bitch," Tony hissed underneath his breath. "Thanks Larry. It's okay. You did the right thing."

Larry nodded and helped the drunken older man into the apartment. "Been awhile, Tony, since he showed up at my door asking to be let in. Figured he was dead..."

Tony grabbed at the visitor as he took a wild swing at Larry, shouting that he was not dead. Tony scowled and helped the man to the sofa. "Nat, can you start a pot of coffee, please. Use that strong stuff Gibbs likes."

Natalie, still confused as to what was going on, went into the kitchen to make the coffee.

"Want me to stay, Tony?"

"No. It's okay, Larry. I got it."

"Come on, you remember what happened last time... he sent you to the ER..."

Tony stood up and glared at the building manager. Larry held his hands up and surrendered. Quietly the building manager let himself out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. Tony turned back towards the drunk on his sofa.

Natalie got the coffee pot going and glanced into the living room. Tony was taken the older man's shoes off, helping him out of his jacket. She was struck with their similarities, how Tony was strangely different around the man... the Tony she knew would not just let his building manager drag a drunk guy into his apartment. Leaving the coffee to percolate, she went into the living room and crossed her arms over her chest. "How often does your father stop by like this?"

He straightened his shoulders. "Been a couple of years," Tony admitted. "Actually thought that the last stepmom had gotten him to kick the habit."

She watched as Anthony DiNozzo, senior, groaned on the sofa, mumbling. "He's an alcoholic, Tony. They just don't _kick_ the habit."

"I am not an alcoholic!" Senior shouted at her from the sofa. "You... you tell her, Junior!"

"Dad," Tony said, easing him back down onto the sofa. "Just take it easy, okay?"

"Take it easy?" Senior snarled. He took a few swings at Tony, but Tony was easily able to hold his father off. "Get your hands... off of me, Junior!"

Tony let him go and stepped away letting his father fail about on the sofa until the elder DiNozzo had fallen off onto the floor. "Alright, Dad, have it your way," he snapped. "But you're having a cup of coffee when it's ready..."

Senior mumbled some more and pulled himself back up onto the sofa. "Don't need coffee... pour me another drink, Junior."

Natalie looked at Tony incredulously. "Tony..."

"Dad. You've had enough tonight," the SFA said. "Only thing you're getting is coffee. Black."

"Black coffee! I said bring me a drink, _boy!_ " Senior snarled, his eyes flared wide with anger.

Tony knew what was going to happen next. He jumped in front of Natalie and pushed her back into the kitchen, out of the way of Senior grabbing whatever object he could use as a projectile and hurling it at his son. "Natalie, leave," he ordered.

Natalie stumbled back into the kitchen just as the pot of coffee finished brewing. How could she leave Tony with such a wild, out of control man? Sure, Tony was well trained in physical combat, but it was his father, and this situation required a more delicate hand apparently.

Senior was trashing the living room. Picture frames were broken, DVD cases tossed from the shelves—Natalie made it back in the room to grab Kate's water bowl before Senior had the chance to hurt the innocent goldfish that Tony was quite attached too. Her dash into the living room to save the fish, while Tony was struggling to subdue his father, caught the elder DiNozzo's attention. She had just put the fish bowl down onto the back kitchen counter when the coffee pot, filled with fresh, hot coffee, came flying at her. It landed just shy of hitting her, but when the pot shattered on the floor she was splashed with the hot coffee all over her pants.

"DAD!" Tony shouted, his voice filled with rage. He grabbed his father, roughly by the shoulders and dragged him back into the living room. "Back away from her!"

"I told you to keep your hands off of me!" Senior hollered, punching his son in the jaw.

Tony didn't flinch, not even a little. He shoved his father down onto the sofa. "Sit down! Before I call the cops and have your ass hauled off!"

Natalie remained in the back of the kitchen, too scared to move. Senior's violent rant was over, replaced with the man begging his son to forgive him, that he would stop his drinking and not hurt anyone anymore.

"Heard that all before, Dad," Tony snapped. He looked over his shoulder at Natalie. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Natalie replied, shaking slightly. "I'm fine... wish I could say the same about the pot of coffee."

"It's fine. I keep spare decanters underneath the sink," Tony said. "He's broken a few of my pots before. Can you make another one?"

"Tony... I really think you should not be alone with him right now."

"Don't worry about me. This has happened before. We're in the beg for forgiveness stage... he won't get violent."

She glanced at Senior on the sofa and then at her partner. She still wasn't sure she should be leaving Tony alone with his father, but they weren't going to sober up Senior without coffee. Natalie went back into the kitchen, found the spare decanter and got another pot going. While she waited for it to brew she cleaned up the broken one on the floor, careful not to cut her fingers on the broken glass.

In the living room things had gotten silent. When she brought a fresh mug of coffee out to Senior, she found him half passed out on the sofa, mumbling incoherent thoughts. She started to move towards the sofa, but Senior flinched at her movements and Tony stepped in, taking the mug to his father instead.

Senior took a shaky sip of the coffee, his glassy eyes looking at Natalie. "Who is she? New neighbor?"

Tony shook his head and helped his father drink the coffee. "My partner."

"Oh yeah," Senior said, grinning at Natalie under a drunken haze. "Junior has told me about you... 'cept he left out that you were a pretty little thing."

"Dad," Tony snapped. "Drink you coffee."

Senior growled and slapped Tony's hand away. To prevent another violent outburst, Tony backed off and let his father, however unsuccessful it was, drink his coffee on his own. By the third cup Senior was slightly sober and finally, fully passed out.

Tony got up and quietly went to put the dirty coffee mugs in the dishwasher. He felt Natalie hovering near him. "I don't want to talk about it," he said softly.

Natalie didn't move from her spot, her arm brushing against his as he took care of the dishes. "You said this happened before, and Larry implied it's happened before... when was the last time it happened?"

"Don't know, three, four years ago," Tony said with a shrug.

"Does Gibbs know this happens?" Natalie inquired.

He spun on his heel and glared at her. "No. And I'd like it to stay that way, got it?"

She took a nervous step back. "You're an adult now, Tony. You don't have to take this behavior from him."

Tony moved past her. "I'm going to clean up. You can either stay the night or go home... your choice."

Natalie gave him a moment and then headed out into the living room to help him clean up. She didn't need to tell him what her choice was going to be, but they were more than partners, they were lovers, they were best friends—they were family—and she was going to stick by him through the night. She was going to be the first one that helped him face his father.

* * *

He wasn't surprised that his father was gone the next morning. Tony knew it was going to be the case. Once his father sobered up, somewhat, he was off again, never bothering to let his son know where he was going.

Tony started a pot of coffee. Normally after a night of dealing with his father's drunken antics he wanted nothing to do with coffee, but Natalie had stayed to help him and he felt that she deserved breakfast. Most of his relationships never got as far as meeting his father at a planned dinner where Senior would no doubt pour on the charm, and they certainly never made it to the stage of seeing his father in a drunk, out of control state...

"Aren't you tired of coffee?" Natalie asked sleepily as she came into the kitchen.

"Making it to go with the breakfast I'm going to prepare for you," Tony said, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her.

"Shouldn't we be looking for your dad?"

"No, he does this all the time. I'm not worried. He'll give me a call when he reaches his destination... if he even remembers coming here."

Natalie wanted to argue that they shouldn't just let this behavior slide, that Tony needed to find his father while his father was still sober and tell him that things were going to be different...

Tony had just pulled the coffee pot off when his cell rang. Once glance at the caller ID told him all he needed to know—that they were not going to be getting the weekend off after all. As they drove out to the crime scene, Senior's drunken rampage was far from Tony's mind. He found that the older he got, the easier it was to just forget what a mess his relationship with his father was. If he was lucky, Senior wouldn't make an appearance for another three to four years. He would quickly learn that he wasn't going to be so lucky.


	2. It's Complicated

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Broken Arrow"

 **A/N:** Yay! The site is back up! And yay for a new chapter! Thank you everyone that left reviews, I would have replied to you all but the system was down for so long! Hope you like chapter 2!

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs watched as his senior field agent's car pulled up to their crime scene. Not surprisingly both Tony and Natalie got out of the car. The original plan was to give his entire team the weekend off. But as they said, the best laid plans... Gibbs knew why his team had been called in for this case. They were among the best... the elite, agents scrambled to work on the team and with the team... and they were the only MCRT that weekend that didn't have an active case.

Gibbs knew that their job was demanding and that his agents were not going to complain about losing their free weekend, however, he didn't want Tony and Natalie's relationship to unravel because of the job. Tony was finally with someone that got him and all his complexities and loved him, deeply. That kind of love didn't come around very often, he would know.

"Hey boss," Tony greeted, smiling, softly. "Just when we thought we were in the clear—they rope us back in."

"Wish I could have handed it off to Balboa, but his team is working a hot case," Gibbs said, sadly.

"Dead body found on the Naval Academy grounds," Tony mused, "You can't just hand this case off to anyone."

Gibbs gestured towards the dumpster that the body had been found in. "Someone needs to go through that trash," he said, looking back at his agents.

Tony smiled and glanced at Natalie. "Sounds like a probie job to me."

Natalie groaned and rolled her eyes but slapping on a pair of rubber gloves, throwing on her windbreaker and hat, she did as she was _ordered_ to do. Tony grinned at the former marine and said, "Thanks for getting us a probie, boss."

"Welcome," Gibbs chuckled as he went to check in with Ducky. "Got anything for me yet, Duck?" he asked their medical examiner.

"Doesn't appear to be a robbery gone bad," Ducky replied. "McGee noted that nothing was taken. I've collected samples from underneath the victim's fingernails. Abby will no more once she runs some tests."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his temple. "Okay, keep me posted Ducky."

Ducky nodded his head and continued working. Unlike Gibbs, the medical examiner could chose not to call his assistant in and he had decided that Jimmy should be spending time with his new girlfriend instead of on the Naval Academy grounds investigating a murder. Splitting on a Saturday afternoon was not something that a new relationship should have to be dealing with. And he also didn't want to interfere with Jimmy's studies. The poor lad had so little free time to begin with...

McGee arrived from interviewing the Admiral that had found the body, and Ducky heard him say to Gibbs, "Boss, the Admiral is very high ranking... he's the deputy of chief operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has no idea why Iverson wanted to meet him out here, he said that Iverson wanted to tell him something but insisted on this meeting place."

"It was the first place they met," Gibbs surmised.

"Yes," McGee replied. "Do you think he was killed for what he was going to say to the Admiral?"

"Possibility, Tim," Gibbs said. "Let's get back to NCIS and figure it out."

* * *

It was going to take Natalie forever to get the smell of garbage out of her clothes and hair... but as Tony had pointed out... she was the Probie after all, and Tim certainly didn't seem willing to step in her place. Perhaps dumpster diving was ample punishment for the heap of trash she had thrown on Tony six weeks ago when she'd insulted him...

Natalie found some spray in her top drawer—lavender—and tried to cover up the smell of garbage. When she had the time she would dig out her change of clothes from her go bag and change, right now she had been given orders by Gibbs to find out more information on their victim, Woody Iverson. It was already discovered that the Admiral, who had found his body, was pretty high up in the Pentagon—making it look suspicious as to why Iverson was meeting with him.

She sat down at her computer and began to type, eyes drifting towards over the cubicle wall and her shoulder when she heard some shuffling. Abby was standing looking down at her. "Boys made you go dumpster diving huh?"

"Sorry about the smell, I just need to finish this and then I'll go change," Natalie replied, turning back to her work.

"I've got nothing to do right now," Abby lied. "Maybe I can help?"

Natalie knew that Gibbs would kill her... but she really wanted to get out of these smelly clothes. She handed the file to Abby. If anything good had come out of her break-up with Tony was that she had found a friend in Abby. Thanks. I'll be right back."

Grabbing clothes from her desk, Natalie quickly went to grab a shower in the woman's locker room, changed, redid her makeup and decided to let her hair air dry with the help of on hair gel and a towel. When she got back to her desk Abby had left the file on her keyboard. The other woman was no where to be found and Natalie suspected that Gibbs would be none the wiser...

"Talk to me Callahan," Gibbs said interrupting her thoughts he walked into the squad room with Tony and Tim. "Tell me about Iverson."

"Woodrow Wilson Iverson retired from Navy eighteen years ago with the rank of Commander," Natalie reported, grabbing the clicker and bringing the information up on the plasma screen, "He went to work in the private sector for Royce Global Group."

Tony raised his chin when the photograph of the owner of the company came up. "Oh yeah, I know who that is. He's basically become a recluse since his son's death in a drag racing accident. My father does business with him."

Tim cleared his throat. "Guess that would explain why your father was on the private jet that landed at Dulles last night." He grabbed the clicker from Natalie and pulled up security footage. They watched as two men got off before Iverson. "Daniel Mayfield, the company's COO, and Theo Gatson, the company's head of security." He paused while they watched Iverson get out followed by a man that was nearly a double of Tony. "And finally, Anthony D. DiNozzo, Senior."

Natalie and Tony both visibly reacted to this—and it had Gibbs interest peaked. "DiNozzo? Did you know that your father was coming?"

He shook his head. "No, boss," Tony replied, hoarsely. "Actually I never know when my father is coming to D.C. He just kind of shows up."

"When was the last time you saw your father?"

"Last night. He... must have stopped by after getting off the plane..."

Tim looked towards Natalie. She appeared to want to add more to the subject, but chewed on her lower lip instead. "He shared a cab with Iverson. There's a good chance that Iverson was just outside your apartment building before he went to his hotel for the night. We know that he was killed sometime last night and his body was dumped at the Naval Academy."

Tony shifted anxiously on his feet. He was really hoping that he could keep his father out of this investigation, so he wouldn't have to track the old man down, but he knew this was going to be nearly impossible. "My father was probably the last person to see Iverson alive."

Natalie glanced at Gibbs briefly, before adding, "So... if Tony's dad went to Tony's apartment... he didn't kill Iverson."

Gibbs could sense something else was going on here. He just wasn't sure what. "But he might know _who_ killed Iverson. McGee trace Mr. DiNozzo's cell phone."

Tim began to search for Tony's father, keeping one eye on his computer screen, and one on the tight expression on Tony's face. The senior field agent was truly worried about his father, it was clear in his eyes. But there also seemed to be some sort of regret, making Tim wonder what Senior's visit to Tony's apartment the night before was all about... and judging from the way Natalie was reacting things had not gone well... "Got it boss," he said when his computer beeped. "He's at a bus station, downtown."

"Great. This is worse than I thought," Tony snarled, grabbing his badge and gun. "My father! At a bus station!" He shouted before storming off.

Gibbs waited several seconds before nodded with his chin at Natalie. "Go on, go," he ordered, silently.

Natalie just as silently went to retrieve her badge and weapon, and followed Tony to the car.

* * *

Tony pushed his way out onto the passenger area at the bus station and immediately found his father—flirting with the young woman in line no less. Senior was neatly dressed, no signs that he'd been punch ass drunk the night before tearing up his son's apartment. _Just like old times,_ Tony thought, angrily. "Dad!" he grumbled, wanting to strangle the man for not even bothering to call and let him know that he was fine and heading back to New York.

Senior turned and smiled at his son and waved. His smile oozed charm and cunning all in one motion. It was what made him a good businessman. Why he was getting on a bus to head back to New York was anyone's guess. "Junior!"

"Stay here," Tony ordered Natalie, still miffed that Gibbs had asked her to tag along. He could handle his father on his own. He didn't need her help.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Junior," Senior said when his son reached him. He smiled, putting on a show for Natalie no doubt. "How did you find me?"

"Dad, I'm a federal agent," Tony snapped. "What are you doing?"

"Been away from New York for too long," Senior replied. "Have some deals I need to close out. You should fly up one weekend so we can talk more. Been awhile since I've seen you, Junior."

"Are you forgetting that you stopped by last night?"

"I came to your apartment last night?"

 _Of course he doesn't remember._ Tony grabbed his father by the arm. "How do you know Woody Iverson?"

Senior's smiled faded, slightly. "Met him last night, we shared lots of drinks and then we shared a cab. Jonathan Royce's people were kind enough to give me a ride on their private jet back to Washington. Got an invitation to Royce's summit this week... but I think Mayfield was just being nice..."

He closed his eyes. Tony tightened his grip on his father's arm. "Dad. Woody Iverson is dead. Murdered. You might have been the last person to see him alive," he snapped, opening his eyes to gage his father's reaction. Senior looked stunned, the smile gone from his face. "You're going to have to come down to the Navy Yard with me and answer some questions." His father mumbled an acceptance of the order and looked across the pavement at Natalie, standing at a safe distance.

"Is that, ah... Natalie?" Senior said, smiling at the young woman standing near the entrance to the bus station. There was no recognition in his eyes, meaning that he did not recall throwing a pot of hot coffee at her the night before. "You were right, son, she is beautiful. Come on, be a good boy and introduce me. Oh, and get my bag, Junior!"

Tony clenched his jaw and grabbed the bag, pulling it behind him. "Special Agent Natalie Callahan... my father, Anthony DiNozzo, senior."

His father approached Natalie with all the charm, all the pizzazz that he normally used when chasing women. "I have been waiting to meet you my dear... you are _stunning._ Of course my son has talked about you, but he has not done you justice, darling. _"_ Senior went to pull her in for a quick hug and a chaste kiss.

"Watch the hands!" Tony barked as he stormed past them into the bus station. He saw Natalie stiffen at the touch but she didn't pull away from it. "Let's go!" He shouted at his partner and father. The sooner he got Senior down to the Navy Yard, the sooner he could be on his way home and out of Tony's hair.

* * *

"Hey," Gibbs said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into the empty Interrogation room. "Tony's father settled?"

"We put him in Interrogation room one," Natalie said, nervously, watching as Gibbs closed the door. "Is something wrong?"

Gibbs sat on the edge of the table and looked at her, seriously. "I don't know... is something wrong, Natalie?"

Natalie should have known he was going to corner her before cornering Tony. "I promised Tony I wouldn't tell anyone," she admitted, hoping that this was going to get Gibbs off her back. The look in his eyes told him that she wasn't going to get off easy. But she had promised Tony and she wasn't going to go against her word... they had just gotten through all their trusts issues... "Tony's relationship with his father is... complicated."

He smiled, slightly and sipped his coffee. Gibbs hadn't met Senior face to face yet, but he was smart enough to know that the relationship between Tony and his father wasn't a normal father and son relationship. "Did his father stop by his apartment last night?"

"McGee already said that the cab dropped him off at the apartment."

"Hmmm...McGee did say that... but did Tony's father actually come inside."

 _More like he was dragged in,_ Natalie thought. "Yes, he came inside and Tony asked me not to talk about it. Gibbs, please don't ask me to betray his trust. He doesn't want anyone else to know what went on and I promised him I wouldn't tell you."

Gibbs realized that while she was loyal to him, she was twice as loyal to Tony. She wasn't going to budge on this issue. "Is he in trouble?"

Natalie knew the answer to that—yes, Tony was in trouble, but Tony didn't even realize it. So, instead she lied, "No. It's just... it's complicated, Gibbs."

"If complicated ends with him in the hospital, Callahan," Gibbs snapped before leaving, "You and I are going to have some issues."


	3. Bruised Ego

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Broken Arrow"

 **A/N:** Happy long weekend everyone!

 **amaia-** _Hmmm not sure if Senior would agree to going into AA. I'm not sure even if Senior got sober if he could have a normal relationship with Tony._

 **E-** _Ah, Senior is sticking around for a few chapters at least._

* * *

"So, your dad's in town," Tim said, breaking the tense silence of the bullpen. It had been tense and silent since Tony and Natalie returned from picking up Senior at the bus station. Tim was finding that he really did not like a quiet Tony. "Do you have any plans to spend time with him?"

"My dad doesn't make plans with me," Tony replied. His head was bowed and he was working on a report. "He arrives and expects me to drop everything for him." _Or he arrives punch ass drunk and doesn't even remember being there._

Tim gazed across the bullpen at Natalie. She quickly averted her eyes and went back to work. Something was going on here—something that Tony didn't want to tell the rest of his team about. "Your dad wasn't at your apartment last night?"

Tony refused to look up. He knew that Gibbs had already cornered Natalie and asked her about his father. Since the boss was walking around the building glaring at Tony he concluded that Natalie had told him nothing. "Did he say he was at my apartment last night?"

"No. Actually he sounded surprised that he had shared the cab with Iverson and was dropped off at your apartment," Tim said. "I think Gibbs wants one of us to go to talk to the cab driver."

"I'll go," Tony said, standing up and dropping his pen onto his desk. He quickly grabbed his badge and weapon and then slipped into his coat. "Anyone want me to pick up lunch on the way back?"

Before Tim or Natalie could answer Gibbs reappeared in the bullpen. "DiNozzo, you're not going anywhere. Until your father can give me a solid alibi for last night he's a suspect in this murder," the team leader announced. "You're staying put. McGee take Callahan and go talk to the taxi driver."

Natalie and Tim rose quietly from their desks, grabbed their jackets, gear, and headed towards the elevator. Tony stood there watching them leave. He didn't move until he felt Gibbs presence in front of his desk. "Boss... I could have handled that interview."

The former marine shook his head. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what happened last night. Whatever it was, Natalie is standing behind you and keeping her mouth shut. But you've put her in a bad place, Tony."

"It's complicated, Gibbs. It's family—you should understand how complicated it can get."

"You and Natalie might be able to clear your father's name."

"I'm choosing to let the evidence clear his name."

Gibbs could tell that he was going to get nowhere with Tony. The SFA was putting up a high wall that he was not about to let anyone scale. "Fine. If that's the way you want this to go—go see Abby. See if the evidence suggests as you said—that it will clear your father's name."

* * *

Tim and Natalie tracked the cab driver down to a little local deli. He was leaning against his cab eating a sandwich and he was also a bit perturbed when the agents asked if he could answer a few questions.

"I'm on my lunch break here," the driver complained with a mouthful of sandwich. Mustard squirted out and plopped onto his already stain covered tee shirt. "Didn't pick up any Navy guys recently so I don't know what you Navy cops want that can't wait 'til I'm done."

"You picked up two passengers from Dulles International Airport last night," Natalie said, pulling out a photograph. She held it up. "One of these men ended up dead on the campus of the Naval Academy. Where did you drop him off?"

For a second the driver's eyes went wide. "That guy is dead? I would have figured if either one of them ended up dead, it would have been the drunk guy. I dropped the dead guy off at the Adams House Hotel... still alive and kicking when he got out of my cab."

Natalie could feel Tim's eyes on her when the driver mentioned how drunk Senior was but she continued to question the driver. They could come back to the topic of Senior later, much later. "Did you notice if anyone followed you to the hotel?"

"Lady, it was raining. All I know is I dropped the drunk off and went to the hotel."

"You just left the drunk man on the curb?"

"Hey, I wanted him out of my cab before he puked. If I had to clean up after him I would have lost business time. Can I get back to my lunch now?"

Natalie sighed and nodded her head. Turning, she headed back towards their car. She knew that the conversation was coming about Senior and what happened at the apartment the night before—and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Tim climbed into the driver's seat and wordlessly started the car up. He could tell by the way she was staring out the window that she didn't want to talk and unlike Gibbs, he wasn't going to corner her and demand answers. Although his interest was certainly peaked that Senior had showed up drunk at Tony's apartment the night before and no one wanted to talk about it.

It was starting to sound like there was no exaggeration when it came to Tony's childhood and it was probably safe to assume that Natalie knew even more of those stories.

"Are you going to ask?" Natalie suddenly inquired, ending their silent drive.

"Ask what?" Tim countered.

"About Tony's dad showing up at his apartment last night?"

"Oh... well you know I don't like to pry."

She smiled at him, gently and titled her head slightly. "So you aren't curious?"

Tim nervously looked straight ahead while he drove towards the Adams House. "I might be... but only because it pertains to the case."

Natalie sighed and rubbed her temple. "He did. I hate that he wants me to keep my mouth shut but... it's his wishes, Tim."

He was worried now. Was Tony going to be in some kind of trouble with his dad? Tim sensed that Natalie did not want to be in the middle of the inevitable war between Gibbs and Tony over Senior, but that was clearly where she was.

She went back to silently watching the scenery pass them by. Natalie was really starting to hate being backed into a corner like this. She was worried about Tony and for his safety. Yet, at the same time she didn't want to betray him by blabbing that Senior had shown up so drunk that he trashed the apartment, passed out, and left in the morning without even saying good-bye.

For the remainder of their drive to the hotel they didn't talk much, just a few comments here and there about the weather, Thanksgiving plans—small talk—and they both were avoiding the subject of Tony's father. Senior was long forgotten when hotel management told them that Iverson took a cab early that morning to the Naval Academy and that he seemed to be anxious about something.

"Maybe we should call the cab company and have the cab taxied into the garage," Natalie suggested.

"Why?" Tim asked. "He wasn't killed in the cab."

"He might have left something behind incase he was being followed," Natalie replied, pulling out her cell phone and dialing the cab company. "Let's hope this driver is more friendly than the last one."

* * *

Tony pulled up to the Adams House Hotel and shut the car down. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm not happy about this too you know," he told his father, tightly, refusing to look at him. "But until the case is closed NCIS needs you to stay in town."

Senior had told Gibbs that it was okay that he had to stay in town—with a smile on his face of course—but now that he was alone with his son he was wearing an angry and stern expression. It was an expression that Tony was used to seeing. "I saw nothing and your forensic specialist already cleared me. There is no reason for me to stick around. Agent Gibbs doing this because I stopped by your apartment last night?"

"Oh, so you admit that you were there last night?" Tony snapped. "That you remember destroying my living room, throwing a hot pot of coffee at my girlfriend?"

"I have no memory of being at your place, Junior," Senior snapped back. "I partied too much on that flight home. I'm sorry if I bruised your ego."

Tony clenched his jaw. "Bruised my ego? Is that what you think you did? Dad, I can't keep doing this! I've already told Larry that he's no longer allowed to let you into my apartment. I have someone else to think about, someone else that could get hurt when you go into one of your drunken rages and I am not going to be responsible for her getting injured. I'm not a kid anymore, Dad. If you do that again, I'll have your ass arrested."

Senior balled his fists up against his thighs. "You always overreacted to everything, Junior, just like your mother, God rest her soul."

It was just like his father to throw his mother into the equations. His mother had not been perfect, she had her own issues, but she had loved her son. Tony could recall how peaceful the house would be when Senior was out of town. His mother never drank then. But when his father came home that's when the fights would start. There was a long list of domestic violence reports at the South Hampton, NY police department. The Paddingtons' and later the DiNozzos' money always got his father out of serving jail time. "I think it's rather unfair of you to drag mom into this when she's been dead for thirty years."

"Are you done berating me like a toddler?" Senior snarled, opening the passenger door to Tony's car. "I'm rather exhausted."

"Fine. We're done," Tony hissed, staring straight ahead and wanting to be free from baby-sitting his father for the night.

Senior got out of the car and reached for the door, slamming it shut. Tony watched as his father charmed the bellhop to get his bag. The bellhop pulled the luggage from the trunk of Tony's car. Tony waited until his father was inside the hotel before he started his car up. He had a date with Natalie and he was not going to be late for it.

* * *

"I know it's not fancy," Natalie said when Tony arrived at her apartment, "But I think you could use your favorite pizza and a James Bond movie marathon."

"Pizza and a movie marathon sound good to me," Tony said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. "You always know just what I need."

Natalie smiled at him and eased into his embrace. "Things with your father have been... stressful. I know that you were hoping that he could go back to New York after today and Gibbs deciding to keep him around for no apparent reason had to rub salt into the wound."

Tony sighed and pulled her closer. "Gibbs is sore that I didn't tell him what happened with my father last night. I'm sure that he thinks that if my father stays around, that eventually I'll tell him what happened."

"Maybe you should tell him," Natalie suggested.

"It's my problem and I'm going to handle it," Tony told her.

She started to protest but he brought a finger to her lips and hushed her. Natalie rocked back on her heels and sighed. "Pizza is getting cold. We probably should eat," she said, smiling at him gently.

He kissed her again before he pulled away. Tony grabbed the pizza box and took her by the hand into the living room. "Eating this pizza and forgetting about my dad for the evening sounds like the perfect plan."

Natalie let him pull her onto the sofa. She flopped against the cushions and watched as he served the pizza. Tucking her feet underneath her she ate her dinner in silence, noticing that the tension in Tony's shoulders eased while they watched his favorite James Bond movies. "Tony... I only wanted you to tell Gibbs because I don't want you to get hurt."

Tony looked at her gently. He put his pizza down and opened is arms to her, inviting her to come to him. When she had settled there, he kissed her temple. "I know," he whispered. "But Gibbs is only going to make matters worse. You saw what happened in that interrogation today. It was like two prizefighters going at it. Can you imagine what would have happened if Gibbs had known about him trashing my place last night?"

"Okay, but can we make a deal—that if it happens again, we'll tell Gibbs?"

"Would it make you feel better if I said yes?"

"Yes. It would."

Searching her eyes for a moment Tony contemplated his answer. She needed reassurance that he was going to be safe. "If it happens again—I'll tell Gibbs."

Natalie frowned slightly and looked at him seriously. "You're not crossing your fingers behind my back are you?"

Tony chuckled. "No. I'm not. I swear, if my father shows up in a drunken rage at my apartment and trashes it again—I'll tell Gibbs."

"Wait, that's not what I meant," Natalie started to say but was interrupted when Tony's cell phone rang.

"Hold that thought," Tony said, as he grabbed for his cell.

Natalie cleared the pizza box while Tony was on the phone. She wished that she could make him understand that his father was toxic. Tony deserved better. He shouldn't still be cleaning up after his father all these years...

Tony startled her when he stormed out of the apartment and down the stairs. Grabbing her weapon, badge, and keys, Natalie followed behind him, locking her apartment up before she did so. He was all the way outside to his car by the time she caught up with him. "Tony?" Natalie called out, "What's going on? Where are you going?"

He glared at her, clearly angered by the conversation on the phone and started to get into his car. "That was Metro PD. They have my dad in the drunk tank. Leave him for a couple of hours and he gets drunk and starts a fight in the bar at the Adams House. I'm telling you, this is the last time I'm doing this!"

She scrambled into the passenger seat of his car and shut the door just as he was pulling away. "Tony your father is a grown man that can make his own decisions. Maybe spending the night in a jail cell will do him some good."

"It won't matter. He won't remember how he got there come morning," Tony snapped. "What he will remember is that I didn't bail him out."

"So what?" Natalie inquired. "Tony, you're not a child anymore. You don't have to put up with this!"

"What would you do if it was your father, Natalie?" he asked, surprising her. "Would you just let him ruin his life like this? For better or worse he's still my father."

"I... I don't know what I'd do," she answered, subdued.

Tony set his jaw. "Then you shouldn't be judging me. My father might have been a drunk bastard while I was growing up, but I was always provided for. I had food and clothes and shelter..."

Natalie felt a sadness grip her heart. "What about love and family?"

"Found family when I got to Ohio State. Haven't needed much since."

"That sounds like a lonely childhood."

"My mom was good, when my dad wasn't around," Tony mused. "And there were times after she died that my dad truly tried to stop drinking and he wasn't so bad..."

"He needs professional help, Tony," Natalie pointed out. "We've seen plenty of people like him before as cops."

Tony sighed and decided that he wasn't going to talk anymore about his childhood or his father. He just focused on driving to Metro to bail his dad out once more.


	4. Almost Compromised

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Broken Arrow"

 **A/N:** Heading to the beach for one last beach day for the summer, but I thought I would leave you with an update before I go! **E** and **amaia,** thanks for the feedback, sadly I do not think jail time is the answer for Senior.

* * *

Natalie had not forgotten what it was like to be at a precinct on a Saturday night. There were usually a lot of drunks and prostitutes; sometimes a few trouble maker teens. It didn't surprise her that Tony's father was the loud and belligerent drunk in a holding cell all by himself.

"Junior! Tell these pigs to let me out of this cage!" Senior shouted when he spotted his son. "They have no right to throw me in here like an animal!"

"Special Agent DiNozzo?" a tall, handsome man in his early thirties intercepted them. He held his hand out to Tony. "I'm Detective Wilson. Sorry to have bothered you with this. But we felt that it was best that your father was separated from the general public to keep him safe and those around him safe."

Tony shook the young detective's hand. Stepping back, he balled his fists at his sides. "NCIS was putting him up in the Adams House for the night. He's a witness in our murder investigation. I didn't think he was going to need a baby-sitter." _I should have known better._

Wilson looked over his shoulder at the raging man in the holding cell. "We can keep him here for the night and arrange for transport to NCIS in the morning if you want, Agent DiNozzo. Perhaps a night in the drunk tank will do him some good."

Natalie saw the dark and threatening look that came over Senior's face. At the same time this happened Tony turned into someone different. He cowered, he visibly back downed from his father and gave the man what he wanted.

"I'll take him back to my place," Tony told the detective.

"You sure about that?" Wilson questioned, eyeing Natalie for a second. "He's shown us that he can be pretty violent when this drunk."

Tony nodded his head. He was sure this was the way it had to be. It was his father, the man who had raised him, he could not just leave him in a tiny jail cell for the night to rot. "Yes. I'm sure. Don't worry about me, I've been handling him like this for years now."

Natalie noticed that Wilson didn't look comfortable with doing this but went to grab bail papers for Tony to sign. She couldn't even imagine the money that Tony had probably spent all these years bailing his father out. Perhaps, Senior had been the reason that Wendy had left. Tony's father was a lot of baggage to take on in a relationship. "Maybe we should take Metro up on their offer."

Senior snarled at her and his eyes narrowed in on her. "Don't listen to her, Junior! She's trying to turn you against me! Just like that Wendy woman! Just like your mother used to do! Look where that got us!"

"Dad, the detective went to get the paperwork," Tony informed him. "I'm taking you back to my apartment."

"What about her?" Senior asked, pointing at Natalie.

"I'm coming too," Natalie snapped. "You're going to have to put up with me tonight, Mr. DiNozzo."

Tony grabbed Natalie by the shoulders and directed her towards the exit. He told her to wait for them in the car. As she left Senior threw demeaning insults at her. He was like Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde. When he was sober he was charming, loveable, easy to get along with, but when he was drinking it was like this monster was released inside of him. She was not going to leave Tony alone with that monster.

Natalie climbed into the front seat and pulled out her cell phone. She was so tempted to call Gibbs. Tears gathered in her eyes as she grappled with herself mentally on what to do. Tony didn't want Gibbs involved, but Natalie didn't see how she could make Tony understand without Gibbs help. Senior was going to destroy Tony at some point. She had seen adult children of alcoholics crumble and succumb to addiction themselves just to cope. How was she going to keep that from happening to Tony without Gibbs?

Senior was raging by the time Tony threw him into the back seat of his car, using his hand cuffs to keep the elder man from turning on the two federal agents in the front seat. All the way to Tony's place and all he way up the elevator Senior threatened to sue Metro, the Adams House, the guy that had started the fight. He even threatened to report all of this to NCIS and that Tony had failed to do his job of dropping Senior off at his hotel room.

Natalie wondered what Vance would have to say about all of this. She supposed this was the violent stage when Senior didn't have something to trash and destroy since his hands were bound. Tony managed to wrestle his father inside his apartment and lead him to the sofa. Natalie closed the door behind them and latched the locks. "Should I get the coffee started?"

"I told you to go away!" Senior shouted at her. "What do you see in this woman, Junior? You could do better than her!"

"Dad, please stop," Tony pleaded with his father. "I'll make her go away, alright?"

"Tony!" Natalie protested when he grabbed her roughly by the arm and led her into the bedroom.

"Natalie, just let me handle this," Tony insisted, closing the door behind him as he left.

She flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Natalie listened to Senior continue to belittle her and Tony out in the living room. Even though she knew it was because he was drunk and not thinking clearly—it still hurt. And if it hurt her, she could only imagine what Tony was feeling. Rolling over onto her stomach she grabbed a pillow and used it to drown out the sounds of the drunken rage in the living room. At some point Senior stopped his constant yelling and Natalie was able to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning Senior was gone again. Tony didn't bother to track him. He didn't want to track him. And the NCIS team had other pressing matters to tend too—mainly getting into the summit that evening. There was lots of chatter going on that Royce had the H-bomb and was willing to sell it.

Natalie was tasked with going undercover with Tony to the party. Since his father had been offered an invitation there was no need to come up with some other deep alias. Tony would simply give his name as Anthony DiNozzo and he'd be in. They were not going to run his fingerprints at the door. Abby had installed a camera in the broach on Natalie's black evening gown and Tim, along with Balboa, were going to be outside watching. They'd be providing back-up if it turned out that Tony and Natalie needed it. Director Vance, Gibbs, and Admiral Chase were going to be observing the operation from MTAC.

"I'm sorry about my father," Tony whispered as they sat in the limo on their way to the party. "I see lots in you, Natalie. Don't listen to him, okay?"

"It's okay, Tony," Natalie assured him. "I know what he said doesn't reflect how you feel about me."

" _Ah, you two realize that Tim and I can hear you, correct?"_ Balboa said over the radio.

Tony grumbled an apology while Natalie laughed softly. She grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as the limo pulled up to the Royce's mansion. She had done her research on the family. Royce had become a recluse. No one had seen him and his daughter was suspicious of the company's activities since her father basically went into hiding. Gibbs suspected that the company was looking for the H-bomb to sell it and someone had killed Iverson to silence him.

Natalie followed Tony out of the car. He offered her his arm and she took it. Tim told her that her camera was broadcasting clearly and that she would need to get as many faces for him to run through facial recognition before they planted their bug.

Security teams at the door didn't recognize them and easily took Tony's name and cover. As they joined the mass crowd inside the mansion, he whispered into his radio, "We're in, boss."

" _Nice going, Tony. Watch your six."_

Tony gently led Natalie into the main room, smiling and shaking hands as he went, playing along like his father would have done. Someone soon stopped them. "You must be Anthony's boy!" the older gentleman said, shaking his hand. "You look just like your father! Tell me, is he here?"

Natalie could hear Tim's nervous mutterings in her earpiece while Tony casually answered that his father had a prior engagement and that was why he'd sent his son instead.

"Could have sworn Anthony told me you were in law enforcement," the older man said, curiously. "Federal agent perhaps?"

"Oh no!" Tony laughed, anxiously, "Would a federal agent be wearing this fancy suit and have a woman as gorgeous as this on his arm?"

Both agents were relieved when the older gentleman bought it and moved on from them. Tony sighed and continued to make his way through the crowd with Natalie on his arm, her camera in her broach broadcasting images for Tim to run through their database.

Natalie spied Mayfield across the room, sitting down with his back to them. She focused her broach camera on the man he was chatting with. "Tim, who is that?" she whispered, while smiling politely at the people that passed them.

" _Give me a second,"_ Tim responded. " _Got a hit. His name is Aygah Bayar. Known international arms dealer."_

"So, he is selling the H-bomb," Tony mused, taking two glasses of champagne when a waiter offered it to them. "I think we need to plant the bug and get out of here."

" _Agreed, DiNozzo,"_ Gibbs said over the radio. " _Get out of there, ASAP."_

Tony noticed the Bayar was eyeing them. He gently turned Natalie away and moved through the crowd. A few more people recognized him as Senior's son, they chatted about his father's business before parting ways. During those chats his partner was able to plant the bug. She gave him a small signal that she had done so and Tony took her by the hand and headed towards the exit.

Natalie felt her nerves fraying when she felt eyes on her. Glancing up she noticed that Gatson was following them. "Tony. I think Gatson made us."

"Junior!" Senior's jubilant voice echoed through the crowd, startling both agents.

"Damn it," Tony muttered as his father, drunk and happy at least, appeared and threw his arms around his son. "Dad. I thought you went home to New York. What are you doing here?"

Senior pulled back and pat his son on the shoulder. "I was invited, remember? I told you that yesterday when I saw you at NCIS."

Tony quickly grabbed his father by the arm and let go of Natalie. "Dad," he hissed while they walked. "You can't say that. These people don't think I'm a fed."

"What? I've told all the people that I work with that you're a fed!" Senior exclaimed as they reached the stairs.

"Great. Just great, Dad!" Tony snapped, pulling his drunken father down the steps. He stopped when Mayfield and Gatson stood in their way.

"Leaving so soon Special Agent DiNozzo?" Mayfield inquired. "I didn't even get to speak to your father or your lovely partner."

Senior managed to wiggle his arm out of Tony's grasp. "Dan! Great party! But I hardly get to see my son and his lovely girl here and I was going to take them out for a fabulous night on the town! You'll give my regards to Royce won't you?"

Mayfield held a hand out to stop him. "I'm afraid, Mr. DiNozzo , that you, your son, and his partner are not going anywhere." He nodded towards Gatson who ripped the broach off of Natalie's dress and stepped on it, shattering the camera.

Natalie and Tony heard McGee yelling in their ear that he was going in. Tony pushed Gatson back slightly away from Natalie. "Gentlemen, I think we're all fairly reasonable men, right? There's no reason we can't settle this peacefully."

"Peacefully, Agent DiNozzo? Oh, I think we're way beyond resolving this peacefully," Mayfield said.

"Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that," Tony responded, knocking Mayfield out with a right hook.

Natalie threw her shoulder into Gatson before he could hurt her partner. He went flying backwards down the steps and landed at the foot of the stairs. She quickly held him down by placing her heel just underneath his chin.

Tony wrestled his gun from the ankle holster and pointed it at the two men just as Tim and Balboa burst through the door. "Tony! You guys alright?"

Senior looked slightly perplexed, but then grinned, "Junior! Let me put on the handcuffs!"

"Dad!" Tony snapped. He let Natalie, Tim, and Balboa deal with Gatson and Mayfield and dragged his father outside. "You could have blown an entire operation! Do you realize what you just did in there? You almost got my partner and I killed!"

"For crying out loud, Junior," Senior snapped. "You were never in any trouble in there. Those guys wouldn't have hurt you!"

Tim and Balboa appeared, dragging Mayfield and Gatson down to the squad car in handcuffs. Natalie joined her partner and his father. "Actually, Mr. DiNozzo, Theo Gatson killed Woody Iverson. Abby just confirmed it," she told Tony. "The Navy is going to intercept the Royce ship and hopefully get there before they find the H-bomb."

Tony clenched his jaw. He ripped his earpiece out and holding tightly onto his father's shoulder he led him towards the limo that he'd arrived in with Natalie. He pushed his father inside, not even aware that Natalie had followed him—that Gibbs had ordered her to go with Tony to make sure that he was fine. Vance had agreed to let Tony and Natalie write their reports in the morning. It was apparent that Senior needed to be dealt with first.

Senior had found the champagne in the limo and was pouring them all a glass. When Tony and Natalie refused he drank all three flutes. "I was wrong about this one, Junior. It's obvious that she's beautiful and dangerous. Love that combination in a woman."

"Dad, how much did you have to drink tonight?" Tony asked, grinding his teeth.

"Just a few drinks at the party."

"And the three glasses of champagne!"

"Are you monitoring my alcohol intake?"

Tony wanted to rip into his father but it was going to fall on deaf ears. His father was too drunk to realize how close he had come to getting Natalie and Tony killed, and possibly himself. Closing his eyes, Tony instructed the driver to take him back to his apartment. Hopefully by morning Senior would be on a plane back to New York and Tony wouldn't have to see him for another four years.

* * *

"Special Agent DiNozzo's father nearly compromised the mission," Vance pointed out to him. "I thought he was at the Adams House under house arrest?"

"There seems to have been some miscommunication," Gibbs sighed. "Tony didn't stay with his father. Senior was taken in by Metro last night."

"Let me guess, he was drunk."

"As a skunk according to the detective I talked too."

Vance frowned. Two of his agents could have been seriously injured. Perhaps they had put too much trust in Tony when it came to his father. Obviously there was dark past between the two. Tony had become a different person around Senior. "DiNozzo bailed him, took him back to his apartment, and Senior fled before his son even noticed."

Gibbs nodded. "More than likely. I wasn't aware of the extent of the problem or I would have had McGee trace Senior's cell all day. Senior told me that he wasn't attending the party. I figured we were in the clear. As soon as his father's out of town, I'll have a talk with Tony, Leon. Something needs to be done about his father before someone ends up getting hurt."


	5. Breaking Point

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for "Broken Arrow"

 **A/N:** Hi everyone, sorry about the long wait, but sadly my MacBook died this week and I lost the next chapter so I had to rewrite it. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for being paitent!

* * *

Natalie found herself locked in Tony's bedroom for the second night in a row, because it seemed that when Senior got to the violent stage of his drinking he took that aggression out on her. She realized that Tony locking her in his room was his way of protecting her but she really wished he would just kick his father out or call the police and have Senior's ass thrown in a holding cell for the night. It was time that Tony shut his father out of his life. Senior was never going to change unless he got serious help and she didn't think the elder DiNozzo was going to go for that.

The apartment had grown quiet about an hour ago. Tony had managed to talk his father down and convince him that Natalie was going to stay quiet and not bother them. She had turned the television on in the bedroom and passed the time by idly flipping through the channels. She figured that Tony would join her once his father had passed out. So far the door had not opened and briefly she wondered if perhaps Tony was staying out in the living room to keep an eye on his dad.

She had the urge to call Gibbs once again and tell him what was going on. Tony wasn't going to listen to her but he would probably listen to Gibbs. _You can't do that_ , she thought, _it will break his trust in you once again, and you'll lose him for good this time_. Natalie threw her arm over her face and took a deep breath. She hated the way Senior treated his son but there appeared to be nothing she could do about it.

It had become apparent that Senior was the reason that Wendy had walked away, the reason that Tony had his heart broken the night before his wedding. Natalie would argue that she had a thicker skin than Wendy but she could understand why a woman wouldn't want to deal with this. Perhaps, Senior had gotten physical with Wendy on a few occassions. Although, Natalie couldn't imagine that Tony would not have gone to the same measures to protect Wendy like he was going through to protect her. "Just let me help you, Tony," she whispered to herself. "Please."

Glass shattered in the kitchen and Natalie jumped. Crawling off the bed she opened the door a little and peeked out into the apartment. The living room was dark and there was a faint light shining from the kitchen. "Tony?" she called, anxiously. "Are you alright?"

Natalie didn't get an answer. She stepped out into the living room and headed towards the sound of someone rummaging through the cabinets in the kitchen. She found Senior, a broken, empty wine bottle on the floor and no Tony in sight. "Mr. DiNozzo?" Natalie questioned, cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Where did you hide my Scotch?" Senior snapped at her.

"Tony doesn't have any Scotch," Natalie replied, seeing something in his eyes that scared her. "Where... where is Tony?"

Senior scowled at her and waved her off, stumbling a bit as he kept looking for the alcohol he desired. "He went out."

Natalie glanced at the door. Tony wouldn't have left her alone with his father unless he had a pressing reason to do so. One glance at the trash revealed the empty coffee canister. "Did he go get more coffee?"

"I hope he went to replace my Scotch that he drank! Damn boy is always getting into my liquor and wasting it on his friends!"

"Why don't we... why don't we go sit down in the living room?"

Senior growled at her and slapped the hand away that reached out for his arm. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Natalie took a step back and held her hands up. "Okay, I won't. I'm sure Tony will be back with the coffee soon."

"You people and your coffee. I don't want coffee, damn it! I want my Scotch!"

"Tony doesn't keep any hard alcohol in his apartment."

His backhand took her off guard and nearly knocked her off her feet. Natalie managed to stop herself from falling by grabbing a hold of the wall. Tony's father was screaming at her, his face red, and she heard the name Emily tossed around. Tony had never talked about an Emily in his life at any point but she was pretty certain that Senior was seeing her as this woman that once kept his booze from him. And clearly he used to get violent with that woman when she did so.

Natalie could feel all her instincts as a federal agent kicking in but was struggling to react. This was Tony's father after all. This was not a nameless suspect that had attacked her that she could easily and emotionlessly take to the ground in a heartbeat. "Mr. DiNozzo, maybe you would like to sit down and just take a few deep breaths. I'm sure Tony will be back soon..."

"Do you think you're in charge of me now? I already told you not to tell me what to do!"

"No, sir, I don't think I'm in charge. I just think you need to calm down."

Something in Senior's eyes told Natalie she had gone way too far. As a young cop she had seen a lot of alcohol fueled rages in Boston. There had been a few nights that she had gone home with a black eye because a drunk had taken a swing at her while being arrested. Because of this Natalie saw the attack coming before it had really even started. She ducked another backhand and tried to get back to the bedroom to lock herself inside. Senior threw his leg out and tripped her. She went tumbling to the floor, hitting her shoulder on the corner of the coffee table.

She heard the keys jingling in the lock as Senior punched her in the back, pinning her to the floor. Gasping for air, Natalie cried out for Tony.

Tony dropped the tray of coffee in his hands when he saw his father's relentless attack on her. For the first time his father's violent, drunken rage made him angry. Truly angry. His protective tendencies towards Natalie kicked in and he threw Senior across the room, placing himself as a barrier between his out of control father and his girlfriend. "Touch her again and I'll knock your drunk, sorry ass out!"

"I'll make sure you see none of that inhertiance!" Senior shouted, nostrils flared. "Ungrateful little bastard!"

"Fine. Whatever," Tony snapped. "I don't need you."

"You'd rather have her than money?"

"She doesn't get drunk and beat me!"

Natalie flinched when Senior struck Tony, shouting and spitting insults at his son. Tony pulled away and managed to drag her into the bedroom. The door slammed shut and she could hear the argument escalating out in the living room. Tony had finally snapped, he'd finally had enough of his father. She fell back onto the bed, as painful as it was, and felt a choked sob escape. It became clear to her in that moment why Wendy had given everything up, why she had left Tony. His father was a monster when drinking, unpredictable...

Her sob turned to a scream when she heard a gun go off. Grabbing her own weapon off hte nighstand she opened the bedroom door and found Tony on the floor, holding his left bicep, blood seeping through his fingers. The apartment door was open and his father was no where to be found.

* * *

Gibbs was woken up from a deep slumber when his cell phone rang. Rubbing his hand over his face to rub the sleep from his eyes, the former marine found the infuriating piece of technology to answer it. "This is Gibbs," he said, sleepily. He really hoped that his team was not catching another case. They had given up an entire weekend to find who killed Iverson and stopped the killers from selling an H-bomb. He was expecting to hear the voice of an NCIS dispatcher, but instead it was a young sounding man that introduced himself as a Metro Detective.

Detective Wilson could tell that Gibbs was a no nonsense type of person, so he got right to the purpose of his call. " _Sorry to wake you up, Agent Gibbs, but there was an incident involving two of your agents tonight that I thought you should be made aware of._ "

"An incident? What kind of trouble are they in? Do I have to come bail them out or something?" Gibbs asked, annoyed. His agents were adults, if they had been involved in some kind of incident then they were old enough to handle it.

" _Your agents don't need to be bailed out, Agent Gibbs. They were transported to Washington General for treatment,_ " Wilson replied. He could feel that the federal agent was getting agitated on the other line and quickly continued, " _Agent DiNozzo's father had a bit too much to drink and attacked Agent Callahan. Agent DiNozzo intervened and was shot in the bicep when his gun accidentally went off in the scuffle. Neighbors heard the noise and called the police. My officers arrested Mr. DiNozzo for assault and battery, disorderly conduct. He's in a holding cell right now until he sobers up a bit._ "

Gibbs silently cursed himself. He knew he should have checked in with Tony but he never realized that Senior was this bad. The man had seemed so cheerful and charming when Gibbs had been talking to him the other day in the Interrogation room. He had broken one of his own rules, never assume. He should have known better. With a sigh, he thanked the detective and hung up. Grabbing his shoes and keys to his truck, he made the decision that he was going down to Washington General to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

Natalie was not surprised when the curtain in her hospital room was pulled back and Gibbs was standing there, slightly glaring at her. She knew this moment was coming once she had called 911 and Tony's apartment had been flooded with EMTs and police officers.

Gibbs stood there giving her his signature stare and she broke. It wasn't going to take much because of how exhausted she was. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" the team leader asked, watching as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "Or am I going to have wait until Metro's report comes out?"

"Tony stepped out for a few minutes. I was in the bedroom... his father was getting aggressive towards me and Tony thought it was best to lock me away. I heard glass breaking in the kitchen and when I went to check on Tony, it was his father looking for more alcohol," Natalie replied. "Tony doesn't keep Scotch in his apartment and his father just... snapped. Tony came home... Tony came home and got between us. I don't know what happened after, he forced me back into the bedroom. I heard the gun go off..."

"Detective Wilson said it was an accidental gunshot to his arm," Gibbs said, jaw tight. "How accidental do you think it was, Callahan?"

Natalie paused and wiped the tears from her eyes. "The angle of the shot suggests that they were fighting over the gun and it went off."

Gibbs didn't have to guess who pulled Tony's gun. He knew his SFA. Tony would never pull his weapon on his father unless he felt his life was in imminent danger. Taking a deep breath, Gibbs sat down on the edge of her bed and reached out, gently placing his hand on her knee. "I spoke to Tony's doctor. The bullet grazed him. He's getting stitches right now and then will have to have his arm in a sling for a couple of weeks to stabilize it and keep him from moving and ripping the stitches."

She looked at her hands. "I'm sorry, Gibbs. I should have told you how bad it was. I've seen what alcoholism does to families. I saw the signs and I kept my mouth shut."

He didn't know what to tell her. Gibbs had known on some level that Senior's behavior was unpredictable, dangerous, but the man had not shown up in years. "It's not your fault, Natalie. I could have stopped by to check on Tony and I didn't. I wasn't a very good partner or friend."

"What's going to happen to Tony's dad now?"

"Metro is holding him on assault and battery charges, disorderly conduct."

"Senior needs professional help, not just jail time. Otherwise he'll get out and just start drinking again."

"I'll see what the District Attorney can do."

Natalie nodded, feeling a slight weight lift off her shoulders. "Can I go home now?"

Gibbs chuckled and kissed her temple. "Yeah. Let's go get Tony. You two are coming back to my place."

* * *

Tony woke up in Gibbs' guest room when his pain medication wore off. Natalie was curled up against his good side, fast asleep. He winced thinking about the bruises that were on her back from his father's fists. She had warned him that his father was only going to get worse and he had refused to listen to her. _Just like Wendy._ The thought of losing Natalie because of his father just like he had lost Wendy brought a lump to his throat. Or perhaps it was the heavy duty drugs he was on.

Rolling out of the small bed, careful not to disturb Natalie, Tony crept down the stairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. And while he was able to sneak by his girlfriend undetected, he was not able to sneak by Gibbs sleeping on the sofa.

"Going somewhere, DiNozzo?" the team leader asked, flipping the light on.

"No, boss," Tony said, softly. "Just getting a glass of water."

"You need more painkillers?"

"I'll manage."

Gibbs sat up and gave the younger man a good, long stare. "You could have come to me, you know."

Tony braced himself for the tongue lashing that was about to come. "I know, Gibbs. I thought that I could handle it myself. I was wrong. Rule fifty-one. It would have cost Natalie her life if I hadn't come home when I did."

"She doesn't blame you. She wants to help you."

"Nothing she can do. My father is a mean drunk. That isn't going to change."

"Well, he's a mean drunk that's going to jail for three years."

"Jail? What good is that going to do him?"

"Might get him the help he needs. Addiction counseling."

Tony sat down in the armchair. "I can't recall a time that my dad wasn't drinking. He would try to stop but it never lasted long. Stepmothers tried to change him but ended up walking away after they were harassed, beaten, and demeaned. None of them seemed to care what happened to me."

Gibbs felt his heart breaking for Tony. He knew that the younger man's childhood had not been the best, but he never realized how lonely it had been. "When your father is out of prison, Tony, you don't have to have a thing to do with him."

He shook his head. "I know this sounds crazy, boss, but he's my father. I still love him. He's still family. And I want to hate him for what he did to Natalie, but I can't. I hate myself for it because I could have stopped it if I had done something years ago."

Getting up from the sofa Gibbs made his way into the kitchen. He poured Tony a glass of water and brought it to the younger man. "Family is more than DNA, Tony, and if you decide to contact your father during his prison sentence and after, I'm sure that the team will stand by you."

"Will Natalie?"

"You'll have to ask her."

"I never wanted her to get hurt."

"She knows that, Tony."

Tony took a sip of his water. "Sorry, boss, that I've put half your team on desk duty for the next couple of weeks."

Gibbs gave him a small smile. "It's fine. Just make sure you make it up to me when you do get back out in the field."

"Gotchya, boss."

"Good. Now get back upstairs and go back to bed."

"On it, boss," Tony said with a small smile. He got up off the arm chair and climbed the stairs gingerly back to the bedroom. "And thanks, boss. I feel better now," he called just as he disappeared from Gibbs' sight.

"Never had to do it alone, Tony," Gibbs said, softly to himself. He hoped that after tonight Tony understood that he wasn't alone, not anymore.


	6. Walking Away

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for previous seasons

 **A/N:** With the recovery of my MacBook I'm back for regular updates :) Gearing up for the start of the season! Enjoy!

* * *

Sunshine on his face woke Tony up the next morning. As painful as it was, he stretched and reached out with his good arm, pulling Natalie closer to him. He buried his nose in her air and sighed, wanting to go back to sleep. It was then that he realized how tired he really was. He'd been through a lot the last few days, including a gun shot wound, what he really wanted to do was rest. However, he knew that work was going to get in the way of that.

Natalie seemed content to stay in bed as well. She rolled onto her side and burrowed in between his arms, burying her face in his tee shirt. It didn't take her long to settle, but he knew that she was slightly awake.

Tony smiled and kissed her behind the ear. How was it possible that he loved her even more this morning than he did the night before? He could probably sit there all morning and internally debate that question. Pulling her tightly against him, he whispered, "Think Gibbs will give us the day off to just stay in his guest bed all day?"

"Doubtful," Natalie murmured. "We still have our reports from the undercover operation to write for Vance."

"Ah, well, I knew it was wishful thinking anyway," Tony replied, opening his eyes and glancing at her.

She felt his eyes on her and opened her own. Smiling, softly, she asked, "What is it?"

He became serious, using his good hand to stroke her cheek. "I'm sorry. My head wasn't in the right place. I shouldn't have left you alone in that apartment with my father, knowing full well that he could snap and go after you at any second. I honestly thought you were sleeping..."

Natalie brought a finger to his lips and hushed him. "Tony, it's okay. I'm not mad at you. None of it was your fault. Your father is an adult that chose to drink too much and then chose to hurt others. But now will you listen to me that your father needs to get sober or out of your life?"

Tony took a deep breath before bringing his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "Yeah," he whispered, "I'll listen to you now. I probably should have listened to Wendy, Danny... any other of my friends and partners that met my dad..."

"We don't want to believe the worst in our parents," Natalie said. "You were in denial, Tony. And you had suffered your father's abuse for years. It was all you knew."

"Not anymore," Tony said, rolling onto his side and climbing out of bed. He looked at his partner, his best friend and lover, "You're more important to me than my father, Natalie. More important to me than Wendy ever was. Truth is, when my father chased her away I didn't go chasing after her."

Natalie sat up on her elbows. "Would you go chasing after me?"

Tony smiled at her, gently. "To the ends of the Earth and back."

"I don't think it will ever come to that but it's nice to know you will."

"I love you, Natalie. I would do anything for you."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Oh, I'm very much aware of that, beautiful."

She held her hand out to him. "Come back to bed."

He grinned at her and shook his head. "We have work."

Natalie smiled, softly. "No we don't. Gibbs left for NCIS over an hour ago and he told me that he didn't want to see us today. So... come back to bed."

Tony took her hand and laid down in the bed with her, using his good arm to press her body close to him. She rested her head against his chest, her fingers gently running over his tee shirt. He kissed her forehead. "You know this is what I wanted to do on Saturday."

"Better late than never," she whispered, snuggling closer to him. "I noticed that you put a better TV and a DVD player in here... did you spend a lot of time at Gibbs house, you know... before I came along?"

"In those early days, yes, and especially after Wendy left me," Tony confessed, feeling a slight weight lifting off of his shoulders. He had never told anyone any of this. "Gibbs picked me up and dusted me off. He told me that some one better was going to come along. That eventually I was going to get things right. He had a lot of faith in me."

Natalie glanced up at him. "He still has a lot of faith in you, Tony."

Tony let a lopsided grin form on his face. "You know something," he told her before kissing her, "I think I finally got it right."

* * *

Tim was startled to find the bullpen silent when he arrived fifteen minutes late for work. Normally he would have been roasted by Tony for walking in late because he was usually so punctual. However, today there was no Tony waiting to tease him. In fact, Tony's desk looked like it hadn't been touched since the day before.

Quietly glancing at Natalie's desk, Tim noticed that her work space appeared to be untouched as well. It wouldn't be the first time that they were late for work since they had started dating but something in Tim's gut was tingling.

After last night when Tony's father had compromised their operation Tim had watched as his partners took Senior back to Tony's apartment. Thinking back to the conversation with Natalie in the car two days ago, Tim began to worry that something had happened to his colleagues.

"Are you just going to stand around all day, McGee?" Gibbs questioned as he slid into the bullpen. "Got a stack of cold cases waiting for you to look at."

"Cold cases? Is everything alright with Tony and Natalie?" Tim retorted, now really worried. They never worked cold cases unless someone was out sick or on medical leave.

Gibbs sipped his coffee. "Tony's father had a little too much to drink last night and got physical. Both are home today resting from injuries they sustained."

Tim still couldn't move to his desk. "Injuries? How bad are they hurt?"

"Minor injuries, McGee. Natalie has bruises, Tony had to get stitches when a bullet grazed him. They're both expected to make full, speedy recoveries."

"Tony was shot?"

Gibbs sighed and looked at the junior agent. Tim's eyes were wide with shock. "Accidentally. His gun went off in a struggle with his father. It was just a graze. He was lucky."

Tim absorbed the information, blinked a couple of times, and then turned towards his desk. "I'm sorry, boss. I'll get to work and stop asking so many questions." He paused, briefly and then turned towards Gibbs. "What's going to happen to Tony's father?"

"Up to a judge to decide,"Gibbs replied. "Jail time, maybe in-patient rehab at a secure facility."

"Is Tony okay with that?"

"No, he isn't okay with any of it, McGee. But he realizes that his father isn't going to change unless he gets help. This is the only way to help him."

"Does Tony's father agree with all this?"

Gibbs chuckled and shrugged. "I don't think Tony or the district attorney is going to give him much of a choice. Tony is an eyewitness to Senior's assault of Natalie, and Natalie can testify that Senior was violent towards Tony... and if Senior wants his son in his life, he's going to have to change. You know how protective Tony is of her."

Tim was very much aware of how protective Tony was of Natalie. If Tony felt that his father posed a threat to her he would cut his father out of his life. Silently, he went to his desk and began to work on the stack of cold cases that had been left for him.

* * *

After struggling with the arm sling when getting dressed Tony had opted not to use it. His arm hurt but it wasn't going to fall off if the stitches came out too soon. Natalie had tried to argue with him about but gave up when he distracted her with by kissing her in all the places that turned her on.

By the time she realized what he was doing the sling was long forgotten. It wasn't long after their mid-afternoon romp that Natalie fell asleep and Tony took the opportunity to sneak out.

He took the bus to Metro, too afraid to use Gibbs' car. It was quiet in the precinct. Tony recalled those lazy afternoons when there seemed to be very little going on, just waiting for the rush. He found Detective Wilson at his desk, filling out paper work, and requested to see his father. He knew that his father had not been moved from the holding cell yet. No one had called to inform him and no one had also called him about bail. He was sure his father was hounding the cops.

Wilson was surprised to see him. "I would have thought you'd want nothing to do with your father after last night."

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "He's still my father, still my flesh and blood. Besides, I think he needs to hear it from me that we're done until he gets sober."

"You don't have to see him, DiNozzo. You have ever right to ignore his pleas for you to bail him out."

"I know. But he needs to hear what I have to say. Trust me."

With a sigh, Wilson led Tony to the holding cell where is father was waiting to either be bailed out or sent to a more permanent facility.

Senior looked like hell. Hair disheveled, clothing dirty. Tony felt the least amount of pity for his father. His skin crawled thinking about how long he'd let this go on for, how close he had come to his father's alcohol problem taking away the best thing that had happened to him in a long time? His father could have killed Natalie last night and Tony was surprised by the rage that overtook him upon seeing Senior for the first time since then.

Tony balled his fists up against his sides when his father's eyes found him. Immediately the older man shouted at his son to get him out the cell, but Tony stood his ground. "No."

"No?" Senior spat, angrily. "What do you mean, no?"

"Just that, Dad," Tony said. "I've spent my whole adult life bailing you out. I lost several women because of you. One of them I was going to marry."

"Wendy wasn't right for you!"

"And that's supposed to justify your drinking? Sorry, Dad, but I won't let you do this to me anymore."

Senior glared at him. "She put you up to this didn't she, Junior? Natalie? She's just trying to tear us apart!"

Tony clenched his jaw. "Natalie didn't force me here. In fact, when I left her she was sleeping and had no idea that I was coming here to speak to you. She might be a large part of my reasoning, but she didn't put me up to it. I love her, Dad, and you could have killed her last night. Do you know what that would have done to me? It would have destroyed me! She's more than just a lover, she's my best friend, the one person in this crazy world that gets me! Can't you see that your drinking was the reason that so many women left me? That my life has been stalling for so many years?"

His father scoffed. "You always blamed me for your problems."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I can't do this anymore, Dad. I can't. You're on your own. I've already spoken to the D.A, they're going to look into a residential rehab for you. I hope when you come out in two to three years that you see how much you hurt me and those around you because of the alcohol. I hope then we can have a normal father and son relationship. But until then, it's good-bye. I need to protect Natalie. I need to protect myself."

Tony turned to go, and even though his father was screaming at him to come back, he didn't. He walked away and out of the police station. Natalie would be waking up soon, if she hadn't already, and he wanted to be back before she got too worried.

* * *

"I was just informed that there's going to be an inquiry about Somalia," Vance stated, dropping the bomb onto Gibbs just before the team leader left for the evening.

"We did everything by the book, Leon," Gibbs said, matter-of-factly. "Not sure what they're looking for."

Vance shoved his hands into his pockets. "Seems that there's some concern with Agent Callahan's report—the one she wrote after Mossad demanded answers from her. It looks like they're investigating Eli David for... less than ethical practices shall we say."

Gibbs paused and looked at Vance, heavily. "Eli might have used Tony and Natalie as bait to get into that camp, but I'm not sure it's enough to remove him from power, Leon."

He would tend to agree, but his agents were going to be summoned to testify at an international hearing. Vance was anxious for them. Their experiences in Somalia had been scarring, difficult and he wasn't sure they had completely healed from them. "They want Tony and Natalie's testimony about what happened to them in that camp."

"Once they hear about Ziva... they might justify using Tony and Natalie as bait," Gibbs pointed out.

"Not my decision to make. I'm just following SecNav's orders, Gibbs," Vance replied.

Gibbs frowned. It had suddenly become clear that he was not going to keep his team from getting entangled with Mossad once again.

* * *

 _Next few chapters will be my version of "Enemies Foreign"._


	7. Safe House

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for "Enemies Foreign"

 **A/N:** I apologize for the longer than usual wait. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to get back to regular updates but real life has gotten insanely busy and the holiday season is fast approaching!

* * *

"Hey, Gibbs," Tony greeted when the team leader opened the back door and stepped into his house. "I made dinner. Homemade meatballs and sauce."

"Where's your sling?" Gibbs snapped, more forcefully than he intended but given his high stress level, it was understandable.

Tony grinned and spooned the meatballs and sauce into a big bowl. "Natalie and I had the same argument about four hours ago now. I'm fine, boss. It hurts, but nothing that I can't handle. The sling was just getting in the way and I promise that I'll take it easy."

Gibbs watched as his senior field agent took the food to the dining room table. He noticed that Natalie was on the sofa, reading one of the books from his shelf. Both of his agents looked relaxed and rested. He wished that he didn't have to bring up the inquiry and Eli David. "Probably best you don't have the sling—you're going to need your best suit."

Stopping what he was doing, Tony looked up at his boss, perplexed. "My best suit for what, boss?" he inquired. Immediately the younger man could tell that something was wrong, just by the look in Gibbs' eyes. "Boss? What's going on?"

Natalie perked up with that question. She bookmarked where she was in her book and got off the sofa. She might not have worked as long with Gibbs as Tony had but she was learning the signs of when the team leader was worried about something. He got this certain look in his eyes and he was giving that look to both of them right now. "Does Tony have to testify for something?"

"I think you both should sit down for a second," Gibbs said, stiffly. "We need to talk."

"Talk?" Tony repeated. "Are you breaking up with us, boss?"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs sighed, "sit down, please."

Tony glanced at Natalie and lowered his body into a seat. "Boss said _please._ This can't be good."

Natalie slowly sat down next to Tony. "Is this about last night?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No. It's about your report on Somalia, Callahan."

"What? My report? I wrote that a year ago."

"Appears it's caused quite the stir. There's going to be an inquiry into Eli David's actions regarding Somalia."

Tony reached underneath the table and grabbed Natalie's hand. "You mean someone was a little upset that he used us as bait?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yes. You're both going to have to testify."

Natalie instantly felt panic. She had come to terms with what happened in Somalia through therapy sessions but she was in no way shape or form ready to _speak_ about it again. Why wasn't her report enough? Why did she have to get up there in front of strangers and talk about what she'd seen, been through in that awful little room? "Why do they want us to testify? Everything that happened to us is in those reports."

"It's more powerful coming from the witness," Gibbs told her softly.

"I get up there and speak out against Mossad—I'm writing my death sentence," Natalie snapped, tears forming in her eyes.

"Not speaking out against Mossad—Eli David."

"Fine, still writes my death sentence."

Gibbs could see the turmoil clearly in her eyes. "I wish you didn't have to testify either, Natalie, but if you refuse, you're going to be subpoenaed."

Natalie let go of Tony's hand, pushed her chair back, and fled up the stairs to the guest room. Both men jumped slightly when the door slammed shut.

Tony glanced sadly at Gibbs. The senior field agent had been comforting and helping Natalie through her nightmares from Somalia for a year now, they would probably never fully go away and he understood her fear in speaking on the matter. "She's right you know. Eli isn't afraid to kill to keep his position of power. If he thinks it's necessary he'll silence her. She's the one that can bring him down."

"Believe me the thought has crossed my mind."

"So, what do we do to make sure it doesn't happen, boss?"

"We just need to be on high alert."

"Not going to be good enough for her," Tony said, standing. "Not sure it's good enough for me, boss."

Gibbs watched as Tony disappeared up the stairs to go coax Natalie back down for dinner. He took his cellphone out and dialed. The person he needed to contact picked up after the first ring. "McGee... I need you to get the safe house ready."

* * *

"You realize this safe house isn't going to stop Mossad," Natalie said as Tony opened the door to a small, hidden cabin.

"Harder to find you here than at your apartment or mine," Tony said, stepping into the cabin. He flicked a light on. "And Ziva doesn't know about this one."

Natalie stepped inside and dropped her bag by the easy chair. She was exhausted. She had not slept at all the night before, no matter how much Tony assured her that she was going to be safe, that Gibbs was not going to let Mossad hurt her—she couldn't shake the fear or paranoia. Her testimony had the potential to bring Eli David to his knees...

Tony wanted to take all her fears away and perhaps that couldn't happen until Director David was dead. The man was always going to be a constant threat as long as he was alive and breathing. "Nat," he whispered, "it's going to be fine. Once you settle in here and get some sleep... you'll feel better. I know everything feels bleak right now because you quite possibly have an agency of assassins after you."

"Great, Tony, is that supposed to make me feel better?" Natalie snapped. "Because it doesn't!"

"Come here, beautiful," Tony whispered, opening his arms to her. When she shook her head, he countered, "Just come here for a second, okay?"

Giving in, Natalie collapsed into his arms and buried her nose into his shirt. Immediately the scent of his cologne washed over her. She felt her muscles relaxing, the tension leaving her body and sleep starting to overtake her. It was the first time she had felt safe since Gibbs had come home and informed them that they were going to be testifying at this inquiry.

Tony quietly reached down and lifted her into his arms. He carried her into the small bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Natalie watched as he slipped her shoes off and then pulled the throw blanket at the end of the bed around her. Gently he kissed her cheek. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better once you're rested. And I promise, I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you."

Natalie snuggled underneath the blanket. As she gave in and started to drift off to sleep, she heard Tony on the phone with Gibbs. "Yeah, we made it," he said, softly, "and yes, I finally got her to sleep."

* * *

Gibbs wasn't surprised that Eli David sent one of his minions looking for Natalie and Tony. Even less surprised that Director David was more interested in Natalie than Tony and wanted to speak with her personally before she was called before the inquiry board. "Agent Callahan is at a disclosed location until her testimony," the lead agent told Amit Hadar. "When the hearing is over, if Director David wishes to speak to her, he can—under my supervision."

Hadar's young partner, a woman, Liat Tuvia, scowled. "What is so valuable about this woman that you all protect her like prized gold?"

Vance set his jaw. "She's a good agent and I protect all my agents in my agency, equally. Mossad has quite the history with Agent Callahan, and not a good one. I don't exactly trust Director David in this case."

"Then I propose we do this supervised visit _before_ the hearing," Hadar said, softly.

"No," Gibbs snapped.

"No?" Liat repeated. "She is the only one that can stop this madness!"

"And she's also the only one that could send your boss to prison," Gibbs replied, angrily. "You've used her as bait once, Officer Tuvia. Surely you can understand why I do not trust you."

Liat looked like she was about ready to go off on Gibbs when Hadar held his hand up. "Director Vance I really do not want to get our embassy involved with your state department, but believe me," he said, "I will if I must. Mossad has every right to speak with Agents Callahan and DiNozzo."

Vance narrowed his eyes. "You spoke with Agent Callahan just a few weeks after she returned from Africa. Office Bashan took her statement. As for Agent DiNozzo, I forwarded his report to Mossad as well. What more do you think they have to say on the matter a year later?"

Hadar glanced at Gibbs for a moment. "Do you realize the danger that Director David is in because he has to travel to America? As we speak assassins are on their way right now to take him out. A man of his stature has made quite a few enemies throughout the years."

"Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of State has authorized NCIS to provide a full protection detail if need be," Vance stated, calmly. "And the FBI, along with Homeland Security is tracking the assassination team as we speak."

"If Director David dies because we were not allowed to speak to your agents, it will be his blood on your hands," Liat snapped before opening the door and storming out of the NCIS director's office.

Gibbs didn't flinch. His top priority was to keep his agents safe. If Eli David were to die on his trip to the United States, well, he had certainly dug his own grave with his past actions. The NCIS team leader was not about to sacrifice his agents' lives for the Israeli. Natalie had almost given up her life once because of Mossad. And Tony was willing to die for Natalie out there in that desert... it was not an option letting Mossad speak to the agents before their testimony.

Hadar said nothing when he left, his dark eyes falling on Gibbs with a look of understanding. Gibbs had always felt that Hadar got him and his desire to keep his people safe but he was not about to speak out against his colleagues.

Vance sighed when both Israelis had left. "Won't be long until they realize that you stuffed Natalie and Tony away in a safe house."

"I'm not worried about it," Gibbs said. "They're there for a reason and they're going to stay there until Eli is back in Israel."

"Or dead," Vance quipped.

"Whatever comes first I suppose."

"You better hope that Mossad doesn't learn the location of that safe house."

Gibbs shrugged and smiled. Vance rolled his eyes and told him to get back to work.

* * *

Dusk had settled over the mountains and the wind had picked up rattling the bare branches against her window. Natalie woke up with a bit of a startle, forgetting where she was and why she was there in the first place. "Tony?"

In the other room she heard some movement and then a tall shadow appeared in her door, drowning out the light. "I'm right here, Nat," Tony's voice said, assuring her. He sat down on the edge of the mattress and reached out to smooth her mussed hair. "I'm not leaving you."

"You lied," she whispered, "I don't feel better now that I've slept."

"Natalie, I'm going to protect you. Eli David is going to have to dispose of me to get to you," Tony said, eyes darkening.

"And that's scares me, Tony," Natalie confessed. "I don't want anyone to die for me over all this."

Tony sighed and reached for her, pulling her tightly against him. He softly kissed her temple. "In a few days this will all be over, darling, and things will go back to normal. I promise."

Natalie closed her eyes. "You can't make promises like that, Tony. We don't know what's going to happen..."

In the other room the front door of the cabin rattled. Tony immediately let go of her and drew his weapon, positioning himself protectively in the door way with the gun aimed right at the front entrance. The heavy door swung open and Gibbs stepped in from the shadows, a cloud of dead leaves rushing into the room with him. "Put that thing away, DiNozzo," he scolded the SFA.

"Thanks for the heads up that you were coming, boss," Tony snarked, putting his weapon back into his holster.

"Had to remain silent incase Mossad is listening in on my calls or tracing my cell," Gibbs said, putting a bag of take out food down. "Figured you'd be hungry."

Tony opened the bag and took out the containers. "Thanks, boss," he said with a smile.

Natalie peeked her head out of the bedroom. Shyly she stepped into the large common room in the cabin and went to the table. She hadn't seen Gibbs since she had stormed upstairs to his guest room and she wasn't sure how he felt about that. The team leader placed a large soda in front of her and when she looked up at him, he smiled at her gently telling her all she needed to know. "Is Mossad pissed off?"

Gibbs chuckled as he shoveled food into his mouth. "They'll get over it."

"You staying the night with us, Gibbs?"

"Someone has to watch your six, DiNozzo."

"No arguments from me then, boss."

Shifting, Natalie almost immediately felt relieved. She wasn't sure why. Was it the simple thought that both Gibbs and Tony were there to make sure she was safe? They had both been there the night before and she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Perhaps, Tony had been right, that once she got some sleep she was going to start to feel better.

Tony leaned over and kissed Natalie's temple, seeing the obvious change in her demeanor as her shoulders eased. "See," he whispered, "I told you that everything was going to be fine."


	8. Vanishing Act

**Warnings:** None for this chapter, I've basically thrown the plot for this episode out the window.

 **A/N:** So, I fought with this plot line for a while and then just decided to throw all canon out the window and go with this. Hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think, it took a plot twist I wasn't quiet expecting either lol.

* * *

Early the next morning an FBI protection detail picked Natalie up at a predetermined location to bring her to the inquiry.

Natalie had not been back to her apartment. Gibbs had brought a change of clothes for both Tony and Natalie the night before and Abby had done her best to put together an outfit that would be suitable for court. However, the federal agent had to laugh at her choice of brightly colored blue shoes to go with the stark black blazer and skirt she had picked out. Tugging on that blazer now, Natalie watched as the FBI car turned down a back alley alongside the federal building that she would be testifying in.

She waited patiently in the back seat while the agents got out and secured the area. Slowly her door was opened and Natalie was instructed to step out. Natalie stepped out into the crisp fall air, feeling her nerves fraying. They had been doing so since she had parted ways with Tony and Gibbs over an hour ago. But the departure was necessary, Mossad was going to be looking for NCIS to be transporting her, protecting her and Tony, not the FBI, and separating them gave Mossad two targets instead of one. It was the only way that they believed they could get both federal agents to the inquiry safely and soundly.

"Agent Callahan, this way," the lead agent of her protection detail instructed. "Let's get inside quickly and quietly."

"Are Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo going to meet us inside?" Natalie inquired as they stepped into the backdoor of the building and into an industrial kitchen.

The lead agent nodded his head. "Yes, Agent Gibbs and Agent DiNozzo will be meeting us upstairs."

Natalie wasn't comforted by this. She sensed that something was off. She didn't like this dank room they were moving through—too many hiding spaces. Gibbs had promised that both NCIS and the FBI had gone through every possible space and prepared but this was Mossad they were talking about. Something told her to hang back and she called out to the protection detail just as one of them was hit with a dart of some kind.

Startled, the other agent grabbed her by the arm as she was attempting to pull her weapon, and went to call for back-up over the radio when he too was hit with a dart and collapsed. Natalie managed to get her SIG free and aim in the direction that the darts had come from.

"Please do not make me kill you," a voice said, hiding behind the shelves.

"What do you want from me then?" Natalie inquired not lowering her weapon.

Someone moved from behind the shelves and revealed herself. "Because I am the only one that can keep you alive right now, Agent Callahan."

Natalie blinked and looked down briefly at her unconscious protection detail. "And they couldn't?" she asked, looking up at the other woman.

Ziva David shook her head. "No. I know my father. I know that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. There is no assassination team coming to get him, he planted that Intel with the NSA, who passed it on to the FBI, to keep everyone distracted and busy. It is a decoy. The only assassination attempt here is going to be yours, Agent Callahan. He has ordered his agents to kill you as you take the stand."

"How can I possibly know that what you're telling me is the truth?" Natalie asked, nervously. "You tried to kill me before."

"Yes. I did," Ziva answered, coolly. "But if I had wanted you dead right now, you would be dead."

Natalie lowered her weapon, slightly. "You are no longer with Mossad?"

Ziva shook her head. "No. After I was sent back to Israel the second time my father has disowned me. I had to flee Israel. Thankfully, I have a friend that works with Interpol, she took me in and gave me a job. And I still have friends who are loyal to me in Mossad—Malachi was the one that informed me my father was planning an assassination on American soil. He was the one that told me the target was you."

"Why me? Why not Tony?"

"It is your testimony that ties everything together. You saw how my father used you and Tony to get what he wanted."

"Maybe you should testify," Natalie snapped.

"Maybe I should," Ziva retorted with a smile.

On the floor the radio crackled and a deep voice could be heard saying, " _Special Agent Smith? We need a SitRep. Where are you with Agent Callahan?"_

Ziva took a deep breath and instructed Natalie to turned around. When the NCIS agent refused, she told her, "I will just use a dart on you too and carry you out of here."

Natalie wondered why Ziva wasn't taking her weapon. "I could just shoot you."

"You could. But you will not."

"How do you know that?"

"You would have done it already."

" _Agent Smith? Do you copy?"_ the radio crackled once again.

Natalie swallowed the bile in her throat. Something was different about Ziva this time. She couldn't put her finger on it, but her gut was telling her it was okay to trust her, to go with her and figure this whole thing out. "Okay," she said, putting her weapon away, "I trust you."

Ziva smiled and nodded her head. She led the way out of the room and back into the alley where there was another car waiting for them. She opened the back door to the gray sedan and allowed Natalie to get inside. After the NCIS agent was tucked safely in the back, Ziva closed the door and got into the car on the passenger side. As the car started up and drove away, the former Mossad officer introduced the driver, "Special Agent Natalie Callahan, I would like you to meet my very good friend, Monique Lisson."

* * *

Tony pulled aggressively on his Ralph Lauren suit coat and watched as Gibbs wrestled the radio from the FBI agent's hand. Fifteen minutes they had been trying to make contact with Natalie's protection detail and for fifteen minutes they had come up with nothing but static. Gibbs was starting to get restless, and Tony, he wanted to screw the damn inquiry and go and find his partner. _I knew that this was a bad idea!_

McGee burst through the elaborate front doors of the federal building. "I went to look at the video footage you asked for, boss," he gasped, breathlessly. "But... there was... there was nothing on the tape. It's... it's been erased."

Gibbs was furious. "What were the security guards doing all this time? Watching episodes of _Friends?"_

In any other moment in time Tony might have chuckled at that, but not today. Natalie had vanished, her protection detail with her, and in her place a large pit had formed in his stomach. "She's gone, Gibbs, they took her. And they're going to silence her, boss. We can't just stand here and do nothing!"

"Problem, Agent Gibbs?" Officer Hadar interrupted.

"Where is she?" Tony exploded, charging towards Hadar who stumbled backwards slightly confused. McGee and Gibbs managed to get a hold of Tony before he could hurt the Israeli. "I know you took her! Where is she!"

Hadar blinked and looked over his shoulder at Liat. "Agent Callahan is missing?"

Gibbs ground his teeth, let go of Tony, and shoved the SFA away. "Yes. She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. She hasn't shown. Director David order you to take her? Lock her away somewhere?" Neither of them flinched. He growled. "He did more than order you to take her, he ordered you to kill her. You're here to assassinate her."

Liat's eyes flickered ever so slightly, just enough that both Tony and Gibbs saw it. Hadar did not reply, but he did not have too. Gibbs, Tony, and McGee all knew—Eli David had not sent his officers here to protect him from foreign assassins, he had sent them here to murder Natalie.

"Director David better not be coming," Tony snarled. "Or I'm going to kill him."

"And then we will have to kill you," Liat hissed. "I think I will enjoy putting a bullet between your eyes, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony had been raised to never, ever hit a woman, but this woman was making it extremely difficult to follow that rule. McGee clung desperately to his blazer, wrinkling the fine material. Tony didn't care. Eli David had already been the mastermind behind the death of Kate Todd, Tony would be damned if he stood by quietly and let the bastard do the same to Natalie. "I don't scare so easily, Officer Tuvia."

Liat raised her chin at him in defiance. "You should, Agent DiNozzo."

He was shoved away again by Gibbs, this time taking McGee with him. Tony knew that Gibbs had to be just as pissed but how the boss was holding his composure together was a mystery to Tony. No one messed with Gibbs' agents and lived to tell the tale. But, they needed Hadar and Liat to help them find Natalie. Of course, if Tony had his way right now both Mossad officers would be on the ground bleeding, _and you more than likely would be dead, Anthony,_ he told himself as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Shaking McGee off, Tony pulled his phone out and answered, gruffly. "Yeah, DiNozzo."

" _Tony? Are you alone?"_ Natalie's voice said on the other end.

"Sorry you must have the wrong number," Tony replied, pretending to hang up the phone. He glanced at McGee. "I'm going to hit the head."

"Okay, but don't take too long. I might need your help saving Gibbs from certain death," McGee quipped.

Tony stepped into the men's room and after checking all the stalls, locked the outside door. "I'm alone," he said, softly into the phone. "Where the hell are you, Nat? Everyone's worried about you! Gibbs is probably going to start World War three over you! This probably was not the day to skip town."

Natalie took a deep breath. " _Can you meet us at the diner? You know Gibbs' favorite place he takes us all the time?"_

"Us? Who are you with? And I'm supposed to testify today. So are you!"

" _Officer Hadar and Officer Tuvia are there to assassinate me. I'm not taking the stand with them in the audience or even in the country."_

"Who told you that?" Tony questioned. Gibbs had just figured it out himself a few moments ago. "Natalie, what's going on? Who are you with?"

" _Tony, please, just come to the diner,"_ Natalie said before hanging up.

Looking around the bathroom, Tony had one option—slip out the window without telling anyone where he was going.

* * *

"This is a diplomatic disaster, Gibbs," Vance stated, harshly when he arrived at the federal building. "Two of my agents have vanished before an International inquiry and suspicion is swirling around a foreign agency for being behind it."

"We're looking for both DiNozzo and Callahan," Gibbs said, obviously tense. "FBI took Officers Hadar and Tuvia back to the Israel Embassy where they've been ordered by Homeland Security to stay."

Vance glared at his lead agent. "Is it true? Eli sent them here to murder Natalie on the stand?"

Gibbs nodded his head. "I found a dart gun in Tuvia's jacket. If I had to take a guess, they were laced with venom of some kind. McGee brought the darts back to Abby for testing. They were probably were going to shoot the dart into Natalie's neck and in the ensuing panic of her struggling to breath, they were going to escape."

"Darts? Those were used to knockout Callahan's protection detail."

"Those were laced with a sedative. Both agents are awake and being treated at the hospital. Those darts weren't meant to kill."

Vance was starting to get a headache from this whole thing. If those darts had only been meant to disarm Natalie's protection detail, where the hell was she now? And where had Tony gone too? Gibbs had theorized that Tony had slipped out of that bathroom to find Natalie, but McGee said that the SFA had taken a phone call from a wrong number before disappearing into the bathroom and then disappearing from the federal building. "The phone call DiNozzo took?"

Gibbs set his jaw. "McGee was going to look into his phone records. My gut says it was Natalie."

"What are they playing at, then, Gibbs?"

"Be damned if I know, Leon."

Vance moved passed Gibbs. He didn't have time to sit around and discuss what the hell Tony and Natalie were up too—he had an International inquiry board that needed an explanation as to why their star witnesses were not present to testify.


	9. Venom

**A/N:** Last weekend was crazy busy with school work and real life stuff. I did a little bit of writing, but not a lot. Hope to have more stuff written this weekend for you to post throughout the week. It's a short work week so I will have more free time to write :)

* * *

Abby looked livid. Gibbs wasn't surprised. "How could you just _leave_ Tony by himself?" she threw at Gibbs. "You know him! You know he's going to go after her!"

Gibbs sighed and carefully put the Caf-Pow he brought her down onto the table. "Can you tell me about those darts?"

She glared at him and hit a few keys on her keyboard. A report flashed on the screen. "They were laced with venom, just like you thought, but what's interesting is the kind of venom— _vespula_ venom—or more specially from a yellow jacket."

He blinked and processed that information. A yellow jacket was a particularly nasty wasp... "Natalie has a severe bee and wasp sting allergy. She carries an epi-pen—that dart would have sent her into anaphylactic shock. The only way Mossad would have known that is if someone had done a file on her."

"Ziva seemed to know a lot about her when she was here last," Abby said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Do you think Ziva put one together?"

"I think Natalie was the sole reason for Ziva showing up the last time," Gibbs sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Eli wanted her to take Natalie out and regain her place."

Abby got a terrified look on her face. "But Ziva failed. Natalie fought back and is still here. What... what happened to Ziva after, Gibbs? Eli had his own son killed when he was out of control... do you think... do you think she's dead?"

Gibbs couldn't worry about that right now. What he needed to worry about was the location of Tony and Natalie, and getting them back to NCIS before Mossad found a way to catch up with them and take Natalie out. He leaned over and kissed Abby on the cheek. "Thanks, Abby."

"You'll find them, right?" Abby whimpered.

"Yeah," Gibbs assured her, "I'll find them."

* * *

Tony heard the bell above his head jingle as he stepped inside the diner. There were some truckers dressed in plaid shirts and ripped jeans sitting at the counter, an elderly couple in a booth... Darlene, the waitress that always worked there and knew the team by name, was behind the counter. Tony glanced at her briefly and the waitress nodded to the far end of the diner. His eyes immediately found Natalie.

Relief washed over him as their eyes met. Tony quickly moved towards her as she rose up from the table and grasped her into his arms, protectively. For a few short moments he had been terrified that he'd lost her, that Mossad had finally completed their task of erasing her completely from the Earth. "Don't ever do that to me again, Natalie," he whispered in her ear, "I thought I'd lost you."

Natalie closed her eyes and wished she could drown out all the worries in her head. "You would have lost me if I went into that inquiry. Officer Tuvia was ordered to kill me, they were going to use a dart with wasp venom... I would have struggled to breathe, people would have panicked and they would have been able to escape... probably all the way back to Israel before anyone figured things out."

"How did you find out?" Tony asked, pulling back.

"From me," a familiar voice said from the booth that Natalie had just left.

Tony tightened his grip on Natalie. He watched as Ziva stood up and folded her hands in front of her. The other woman in the booth turned slightly to watch him. "Am I supposed to trust you now, Officer David?"

Ziva shook her head, sadly. "I do not expect you to trust me, not after my last visit. But I am no longer with Mossad. I work for Interpol now. And I came here to stop my father from committing cold blooded murder on American soil."

He glared at her, keeping Natalie by his side in a protective grip. "Little late for that, isn't it? Or did you forget about Kate?"

She blinked back some tears and looked at her companion in the booth. "If I had realized why Ari wanted those files, what he was planning, I would not have given them to him, Tony. For that... I am sorry."

"Yeah, little too late," Tony spat.

"Tony," Natalie softly chided him. "Just... hear them out, okay?"

"Hear them out?" he argued with her, pulling her away from the booth. "Natalie," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "that woman tried to kill you."

"And I've been with them for over an hour—she hasn't tried to hurt me once," she retorted. "Please, just... hear them out."

Reluctantly, Tony let her lead him back to the booth. They slid into it on the opposite side of Ziva and her companion. He reached underneath the table and grabbed his partner's hand. "Fine, you have my attention, but just so we're clear... I'm in a shoot first kind of mood so... tread carefully here Ms. David."

Ziva glanced at her partner before proceeding. "After my last visit my father threw me out of Mossad, questioned my loyalty to him because I failed to kill Agent Callahan and take my place back on the team. He lost his inside link to NCIS and I was shunned so to speak. Monique here has been my friend for years, she offered me a place to stay and a job—helped me get out of Israel."

Tony clenched his jaw. If what she was saying was true then she had a target on her back as well as Natalie. "How did you find out what your father was planning if you're no longer working for Mossad?"

"Malachi called me. He told me that my father was beyond out of control now. He told me about the inquiry and Natalie's testimony."

"Now that you've foiled his plans... you realize that your father is going to come here, to the States."

"I am aware of it," Ziva replied. "And I am prepared for it."

"Why are you helping us?" Tony asked her, honestly.

Ziva looked right at Natalie, her eyes softening. "I needed someone or something to hate after Somalia and my father was not an option, not in my mind. Natalie... was the perfect person to hate—she got everything I wanted. She had my job, she had _you._ I... want to make it up to you, Tony. My father is not a good man and he should at least be pushed from his position of power. You and Natalie have the means for accomplishing this with your testimonies."

Natalie could see that Tony was easing, slightly, not a lot but it was enough for now. "It's why he wants me dead. He knows I can get him removed just from my words. He knows that what he did to his daughter, to us in Somalia was wrong and people are going to want him punished for it."

Tony took a deep breath and clutched her hand. "So what do we do now? We know about Eli's assassination plot, we know that we've missed our court date... NCIS is going to be looking for us, Natalie—Gibbs is going to be looking for us."

"Then we should contact, Gibbs," Ziva said.

"He's going to be pissed," Tony pointed. "I gave him the slip..."

"Do not worry about, Gibbs," Ziva stated. "I will go to NCIS and I will talk to Gibbs and Vance. Monique will take you to a safe place."

"Is there a safe place?" Natalie asked, rhetorically.

Tony let go of her hand and reached out, putting his arm around. Gently he kissed her cheek. He wanted to tell her that it was going to be fine, but that last time he had said that a Mossad assassination team had shown up to kill her, and she was now hiding from both Mossad and NCIS. Everything at the moment was no where near being fine.

* * *

It was a small, tiny hole in the wall that Monique brought Tony and Natalie to—nothing like their cabin they'd spent the previous night in. She insisted that they couldn't go back there because NCIS knew the location.

Tony didn't know why Monique and Ziva were so nervous about NCIS knowing their location. He dropped down onto a rickety bed in the bedroom and watched as Natalie peered through the thin curtains at the street below them. "Gibbs isn't going to be happy," he told her, gently. "Why didn't you call him? Why didn't you have Ziva and Monique take you to NCIS where you'd be safe?"

Natalie kept her back to him, her arms hugging herself tightly. "I don't know where I'm safe anymore, Tony. If Mossad could get to me at that inquiry whose stopping them from getting me at NCIS?"

"I am," Tony affirmed. He stood, the bed creaking as he got up, and went to her. "Do you think I'd let them hurt you at NCIS?"

"No, but you didn't even know they were planning on hurting me at the inquiry," Natalie replied, turning to face him. "That dart would have killed me before anyone got to me."

Tony wrapped her into his arms. He just wanted this whole thing to be over with. "We stop Eli David, we stop this whole thing. But we're gonna need Gibbs and McGee... I'm not sure I entirely trust Ziva... but she hasn't tried to kill us... yet."

Natalie buried her nose into his shirt. The scent of Downey fabric softener and Old Spice filled her nostrils—immediately calming her. "She's changed, Tony. She's no longer being poisoned by her father—I think she saw what she was doing to herself and other people once she broke away from Mossad. She still has a lot of anger when it comes to what happened in Somalia but who can blame her?"

He stroked her hair, thankful that Natalie had not suffered the same horrors as Ziva. There was no doubt in his mind that if Saleem had gotten his way that Natalie would have been his next woman to teach a lesson too—but they had gotten lucky that they had been rescued before that could happen. Something dawned on him then, "She's going to testify instead of you—that's what she's pitching to Gibbs and Vance right now, isn't it?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging to him. Natalie might have witnessed what happened to Ziva but it was going to have more of an impact coming from the woman that it had happened too. "I told her I didn't think this was going to stop Eli... but she insisted."

"Chances are they're still going to want to hear us."

"I know. I'm prepared to testify."

Tony pulled back, slightly, and kissed her. If only they were alone, if only they weren't in this dingy apartment with paper thin walls and a rickety bed... "When this is over I think we need to get out of D.C for a while... I know of this romantic little bed and breakfast up North."

Natalie sighed and smiled. "I think that sounds like a great idea. Do you think Gibbs will let us get away after... well... running away?"

"We could very well be fired... so we'll have plenty of time to get away."

"This is true..."

He pulled her back close to him. Tony was willing to do anything to protect her and if that meant defying Gibbs and Vance, losing his job—so be it. Natalie meant more to him than the job.

She probably could have stayed safely tucked in his arms for the rest of the day, but keys jingling in the lock and the rickety door to the slummy apartment opening broke them apart. Natalie followed Tony into the living room.

Ziva stood there with a frown her face. "Gibbs, Vance, and the inquiry board would not uphold my suggestion. They are demanding that you both testify in an hour. I promised... I promised to bring you there."

Tony grabbed onto Natalie's hand. His stomach twisted and turned. "Did you tell the inquiry board about the assassination plot?"

Natalie swallowed, nervously. "There wasn't enough evidence to suggest that Mossad was after me."

"Despite the fact that the darts found on Liat were laced with yellow jacket venom," Ziva said.

"Yellow jacket venom is not something everyone carries everyday," Monique stated. "It is an odd choice of weapon."

"No so odd when you're highly allergic," Natalie supplied, "and Liat would not have been able to bring in a gun. But a wooden, blow dart gun—undetected."

"Tell me that _someone_ is making sure Liat and Hadar are locked up at the embassy," Tony snarled.

Ziva nodded, timidly almost. "Yes. I was assured that Liat and Hadar are under surveillance."

Tony didn't think this was good enough but it was going to have to be. "Fine, let's go," he said, taking Natalie's hand and leading the way out to the car.

* * *

Gibbs was beyond furious that both Tony and Natalie had thought it best to run. He was even more furious that they had chosen to run with someone that had proven to be as unstable as Ziva. Natalie's blind trust in the former Mossad agent was startling to Gibbs. Tony sounded like he wasn't quite onboard, had gone along for the ride to keep his partner safe—but still, what were they thinking?

Standing next to Vance outside the federal building, Gibbs watched as a sedan pulled up. Ziva and Monique got out, followed by Tony and Natalie. The two Interpol agents held back while Tony and Natalie cautiously approached Gibbs and Vance. "Listen, boss," Tony started to say but Gibbs cut him off.

"Not now, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped. "Get your asses in that building so you can testify. The harsh scolding will come later."

"Gibbs... I didn't want to cause any problems—," Natalie spoke, her grey eyes locking with his.

"Didn't want to cause problems?" the team leader nearly shouted. "Then you shouldn't have vanished without a word!"

Vance diffused the situation by ushering his agents towards the building. He'd just put his hand on the door when a single gun shot rang out, scattering the few bystanders outside with a scream on their lips. His own protection detail shoved him into the federal building, calling over their radios, "Agent down! We have an agent down! Need medical assistance, ASAP!"

Shaken the NCIS director turned and glanced out the glass. On the steps of the federal building Tony and Gibbs were leaning over Natalie, desperately trying to stop the blood flowing from a gunshot wound from the side of her neck.


	10. Bleeding Out

**Warnings** : This one is a little angsty, spoilers for "Twilight"

 **A/N:** Um... you're all still here right and okay? The last cliffhanger didn't cause you all to faint I hope lol. Anyways, I worked hard to get this second part up so you wouldn't be waiting too long. Just a little disclaimer I am no doctor so if the medical stuff seems off please feel free to PM me and I can make adjustments. As always, thanks for your continued support :) Enjoy!

* * *

Life was flowing through his fingers— _her_ life—and Tony felt powerless. No one could tell where the shot had come from exactly or who it was really intended for since it had hit his partner at the base of her neck. At this point the person responsible for shooting her was the least of his concerns. She was dying right before his eyes and if she didn't get help soon he was going to lose her forever. Sirens were screaming towards them, orders were being shouted, and Tony felt like he was in a tunnel, watching as the woman he loved slipped away from him.

Natalie's blood was starting to pool underneath her where she had fallen, her skin turning an ashen color, and her eyes glazed over. At first she had been stunned that she'd been shot, collapsing to her knees with a cry and holding the spot where her neck met her shoulder, the blood quickly seeping through her fingers as both Tony and Gibbs helped her to the steps of the federal building. Gibbs had instructed Tony to take his tie off and hold it to the wound to stop the blood from rapidly leaving her body. Almost immediately her eyes had widened in horror when the reality of the situation became clear to her.

Gibbs had been with the marines long enough to know when a wound could turn to fatal. Tony had been a cop in two dangerous cities. He had seen his fair share of colleagues dying in the line of duty. Natalie was no different than him having walked a beat in Boston and later becoming a detective. The grim reality of her situation was not lost on the three federal agents.

"Stay with me, Callahan," Gibbs ordered her. "Paramedics are almost here."

"Come on, Natalie," Tony coaxed. "Fight. Where's that Boston spirit? Don't let the bad guy win."

Her eyes shifted to find him and he saw a tear make a path down her cheek. Tony felt his heart breaking. "NO! Don't you dare say good bye!" he shouted at her, desperately, aa a hand reached out to pull him back, "Natalie! Stay with me!"

The sirens, the yelling of the paramedics that had just arrived, drowned his pleas out and Tony was tossed aside easily so the EMT's could get to Natalie. He lost sight of her, as IV bags were started, oxygen masks placed over her nose and a back brace slid underneath her to transport her down the steps to the awaiting gurney and ambulance. It was incredible how fast the EMT's worked and how fast they got Natalie loaded into the back of the ambulance but was it going to be fast enough? Would she be gone by the time Tony arrived at the hospital?

Gibbs gently grabbed his shoulder as they watched the ambulance pull away. He gave Tony a reassuring squeeze. "She's on her way to Bethesda. Okay? They saved your life once, from the Plague—they can save her from a gunshot wound."

Tony wanted to believe him. The thought of losing her made him sick to his stomach. He needed to get to the hospital. As quickly as the thought crossed his mind Ziva and Monique appeared, dragging a scrawny guy along with them. Tony's brow furrowed...

"He is the one that shot Agent Callahan," Monique said. "We chased him down after the shot was fired. Tell the NCIS agents who you were really aiming for."

"What do you mean _who_ he was really aiming for?" Tony growled, his hands balling up into fists.

"Some guy paid me to take out the Director of NCIS," the shooter replied. "I would have had him too... if the damn street vendor hadn't bumped me just as I fired."

It was as if the sky began to sway. He stumbled away from the steps and found a trashcan. _Bullet wasn't meant for her... it wasn't supposed to be her!_ Horrendous thoughts began to run through his head, how Natalie could die because the shooter had been bumped—Tony doubled over and vomited into the trashcan.

* * *

Leon entered Phillip Davenport's office, grimly. "Mister Secretary."

Davenport glanced up from his Cuban cigar. "Leon. Any word yet on Agent Callahan's condition?"

He shook his head. "No. I spoke to Agent Gibbs fifteen minutes ago on the way over here—Agent Callahan has suffered a gunshot wound to her lower neck. It appears that the bullet when straight through, doctors are operating on her now to stop the bleeding and repair any damage," Leon replied, taking a seat. "The bullet, Mister Secretary was not for her. It was really intended for me."

The Secretary of the Navy blew out a puff of smoke and then rested his cigar in a nearby ashtray. "So I've been informed by the FBI. Sounds like you're only alive because a hot dog vendor slipped and bumped the shooter just as he pulled the trigger. Agent Callahan is the unfortunate one that got in the way."

"Agent Callahan could be the one to end up dying," Leon said, curtly. "Doesn't seem fair."

"Life isn't fair, Leon," Davenport replied. "Has the shooter said who hired him?"

"FBI was interrogating him. They said they would let me know as soon as they did."

"Doesn't sound like we have much of a case."

Leon looked out the window briefly at the gray November sky. "My team has been more concerned with Agent Callahan's condition at the moment then finding a leg to stand on in this case. It was the reason why Gibbs handed the case to the FBI."

Davenport leaned back in his chair. "Do you think Eli David is responsible? NCIS has already foiled one plot to assassinate Agent Callahan earlier today. It wouldn't surprise me if Eli had more than one up his sleeve. If he's behind it, perhaps your shooter is lying."

"Officer Hadar and Officer Tuvia have been at the Israeli embassy since this morning," Leon said. "They deny any contact with Director David since leaving Israel. Our shooter said the man who hired him had an American accent."

"He never actually _saw_ who hired him?" Davenport questioned. "Eli is crafty, Leon, I told you that when you took the chair and insisted on keeping his daughter on the team. I told you only bad things could possibly come from this friendship with Eli. Our shooter might not even be aware he has been speaking to an Israeli if Eli hired someone else to hire him."

"They only spoke by phone but he was certain that the target was always me and not Agent Callahan."

"And Miss David? Do you think she had anything to do with it? I find it odd that she's turned up after all these months right at this moment."

Leon took a deep breath. "Her timing could have been a bit better to come back—but no, she has not been with Mossad since the moment she left here all those months ago headed for Tel Aviv. She has been with Interpol. Agent Gibbs and I spoke to her before the shooting at the federal building. She seemed sincere and generally concerned for both Agent DiNozzo and Agent Callahan's lives. I had a call out to Officer Ben-Gideon but he has not returned it yet. Unfortunately I have not been back in the office since Agent Callahan was shot."

Davenport picked up his cigar. "Fortunately for you, Leon, I have connections as well. I spoke to Officer Ben-Gideon. He tells me that the chatter about Eli David wanting to assassinate Agent Callahan is true—and he did order Hadar and Tuvia to kill her, but since that failed attempt, Mossad has no idea where he is."

"What? Officer Hadar and Officer Tuvia said that they were to also ensure Eli's safety when he arrived for the inquiry."

"According to my sources Hadar and Tuvia aren't talking to the FBI, except to deny their involvement in the shooting today."

"Ben-Gideon has no idea what's really going on, does he?"

"It appears that way. Sounded like Mossad was keeping it underwraps where Eli is, only Hadar and Tuvia know I assume."

"They aren't talking. I'll speak to the inquiry board. They might know..."

"Already spoken to the inquiry board, Leon. This so called board... doesn't exist. No one in the State Department knew about it."

He felt sick to his stomach. Leon clasped his hands in his lap. "This entire inquiry has been a set-up."

The Secretary of the Navy nodded, solemnly. "Yes. A set-up not for the assassination of Miss Callahan but for _yours_ and Eli David's."

* * *

Gibbs kept his eyes focused solely on Tony. His second in command had not budged from the doors his partner had disappeared through a few hours before as she was rushed to the operating room. Since he was not a blood relation or a relation by marriage Tony had been forced to stay in the waiting room with the rest of them.

Tony was about as white as his dress shirt, well, as white as the parts that were not stained with Natalie's blood, and it was obvious that he was trembling slightly with anxiety. No one on the team could blame him. He had Natalie's blood on his clothes and hands. He had watched as her life slowly started to fade away before his very eyes and he had desperately been the one to try and stop the blood flow. In a few short hours the team had been shattered.

Ducky crept up next to him. Like the rest of the team, the medical examiner had halted all work when they were informed that Natalie had been shot. He softly remarked, "Someone should get him to eat something, Jethro. Anthony cannot expect to just stand there and be fine."

"He isn't going to move until he knows she's okay," Gibbs said, quietly. He sucked in a sharp breath recalling the sound of the gun cracking and then realizing that one of his agents had been hit. "It was like Kate all over again. Only this time she was still breathing when we got to her."

"The parallels are startling and undoubtedly brought back awful memories," Ducky sighed. "Especially the blood on Anthony's face."

Gibbs swallowed the bile in his throat. After Kate had been shot, Tony hadn't budged too stunned and her blood had been all over him. Ducky had been the one to suggest cleaning it off his face and it was then that the young man had realized it was even there. Tony had gotten sick on that rooftop then. _Like he got sick today._ "Tim helped him wash it off. Tony's not thinking clearly right now."

Ducky would question if any of them were thinking clearly. Gibbs had easily handed the case over to the FBI, Tim and Abby had been huddled in a corner of the waiting room sipping coffee and Caf-Pow and watching the news on the TV, and Ducky had paced, restlessly, concerned about the condition of all of them—not just the young woman that had made a place in his heart as a daughter. His heart ached as the doors swung open and finally a doctor stepped out.

The doctor's scrubs were covered in blood, he still had his cap on and the mask hung around his neck. "Special Agent DiNozzo?" he questioned, looking right at Tony. For a moment the team stood, held their breaths—Abby even prayed.

Tony could only manage a meek nod of his head. "Yes. Doctor... is she... please tell me she's alright..."

"Agent Callahan lost a lot of blood," the doctor began, but he immediately continued when he saw the hope leaving the teams' eyes, "But she's pulled through. Right now she's sedated and resting. I've placed her shoulder in a sling to keep her from moving it and pulling her stitches out. She's lucky that bullet wasn't higher. It probably would have severed a major artery and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Can I... can I see her now?" Tony asked, his voice was hoarse and timid. It didn't sound like Tony at all. "I know she's sleeping... I just... I need to be with her, Doctor. She's my partner—my best friend." _She's t_ _he woman I love._

Gibbs didn't hear the doctor's answer, his cell was ringing and he stepped away to answer it. "Ziva. If you have anything on this case, you should be calling the FBI."

Ziva's voice sounded anxious. " _I just spoke to Director Vance. The inquiry was a set up to get Vance and my father in the same place at the same time. The shooter finally confirmed that to the FBI but he was not sure of the name of the man that wanted them dead."_

"There was no inquiry?"

" _No. Monique and I questioned the workers at the federal building, and the State Department. No one knew what we were talking about."_

"Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to get your father here," Gibbs stated, watching as the doctor led Tony through the doors and hopefully to Natalie's room. "Tim and I will be there soon to help. See if you can get in touch with Liat and Hadar." He hung up and went to join Ducky and the others. "Something's come up—Duck, you and Abby keep me updated—Tim let's go."

Tim looked a little torn. Natalie was his partner too and true he wasn't sleeping with her like Tony... if Gibbs was leaving now, something was going on. "Boss?"

Gibbs started walking, not bothering to see if Tim was following or not. "That bullet was meant for Vance. We need to find the person who hired the shooter before Vance becomes the next victim in this bloodbath."

* * *

Natalie looked fragile lying in that hospital bed. Her dark hair was spread out over the pillows. Underneath the hospital gown he could see the bandage peeking out where they had operated on her and her left shoulder was in a sling to keep it from moving.

Tony was only mildly comforted by the rise and fall of her chest. He had come so incredibly close to losing her. Falling into the chair by her bed, Tony reached out draping one arm above her head and the other over her still body. He buried his nose in her hair and let his tears silently flow down his cheeks. He had promised to keep her safe and he'd failed, she had been shot right in front of him while he helplessly looked on. _Just like Kate..._

At least in the case of Natalie he had been able to do _something._ Tony had been able to stall the blood flow, to keep her alive long enough for the paramedics and the doctors to do their jobs. Kate had died instantly. The difference that a few inches made...

He didn't want to think about how a few inches could have changed the outcome for Natalie. Tony lifted his head and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Gently he squeezed her hand and whispered, "We're going to be okay, Natalie."

She was unable to respond being sedated but the steady beating of her heart on the monitor was plenty of an answer for him. As long as he could hear that he knew that everything was going to be fine.


	11. Mutual Enemy

**A/N:** Happy Thanksgiving! Home from a day with family and food and football. Enjoy this little update!

* * *

"How is she?" Ziva asked a bit apprehensively as she stepped into Natalie's hospital room.

Tony looked up from his seat, clutching Natalie's hand. He had been sitting with her since she came out of the operating room. Abby had stopped by with food and a change of clothes for him-and lots of coffee. "Resting for now. Doctors want her to keep her shoulder immobile until the stitches have to come out but she's going to make a full recovery."

Ziva sat down in a chair tucked behind the door. "I am sorry, Tony. Perhaps if Monique and I were not so focused on stopping my father then we would have uncovered that the inquiry was a lie. We would have been able to keep Natalie, Vance, and my father safe. None of this would have happened."

He glanced at Natalie's face. She looked peaceful now compared to the horror in her eyes after she had been shot, as she laid there knowing that she was bleeding and perhaps dying. "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was dealt by the book." Tony reached out and swiped a loose strand of hair off of Natalie's face. "It could have been a lot worse. We got lucky."

She could see the love reflected in his green eyes as he looked upon Natalie. Ziva had often thought back to the night she had attacked Natalie, how Tony had been willing to fight to protect his partner and how she had denied that there were any feelings between Tony and Natalie. After she had gotten out of Mossad, after Monique had gotten her real help, Ziva had seen it and no longer denied it. Tony had found someone to keep his heart and it wasn't her. "My father will always see her as a threat, Tony. It might... it might not end here."

"It might not but you've seen Gibbs... he goes all protective papa bear when one of us is threatened," Tony mused, sadly. "Unless your father wants to end up like Ari..."

"My father ordered me to kill Ari," Ziva confessed watching as Tony's eyes met hers. "I was not there to clear his name. As hard as I tried, in the end I had no other choice."

Tony had wondered before if Ziva had been the one to pull the trigger, he just never had any concrete proof. His father might have been a bastard but at least Senior had not ordered him to kill anyone. He sighed and went back to watching Natalie sleep. He didn't know what to say to her—was there anything he could say to her? Probably not. Her father was a monster that needed to be dealt with—if only he knew how.

Ziva leaned back in her chair, their eyes locking for a moment and she briefly wondered if she had been different—if she hadn't been so enraptured by her father—if things would have been different between _them._ She watched as Tony lowered his eyes from hers and went back to fretting over Natalie, fixing her blanket and smoothing her hair back. "She is lucky to have you," the former Mossad officer whispered.

"Huh?" Tony questioned, looking up.

"Natalie is lucky to have you. It is clear how much you love her," Ziva pointed out.

"Oh, well, she fixed me, Ziva," Tony confessed. "I was pretty broken after Jeanne—even more broken after everything that happened with you."

"We all are broken, are we not?" she questioned, innocently.

"Yeah," he sighed, his fingers tightening around Natalie's, "we are."

* * *

Vance had been locked up in his office until this whole thing was wrapped up. Forty-eight hours of looking out his office window was starting to get to him but there were no leads in this case. His protection detail felt it best to keep him locked up at NCIS. Jackie and the kids had gone to visit family out of the city. There didn't seem to be any indication that the killer was after his family, just him, but he wanted to play things safe.

Gibbs had agreed, sternly, that this was the best option. The lead agent stood rigidly in the Director's office, fists clenched with tension and a look of a feral cat in his eyes that was rather frightening Vance concluded. "Natalie is going to be fine. She got lucky the bullet hit her low in her neck and high in her shoulder, otherwise... you'd be making a phone call to her parents," the surly former marine said.

"Is the shooter cooperating?" Vance questioned.

"For now. He's agreed to identify the voice if we give him a deal," Gibbs said with a scowl.

"I'm sorry, Gibbs, I know this isn't easy for you," the Director stated quietly.

"Isn't easy?" the former marine shouted. "One of my agents nearly died today because of a _mistake!_ I know the alternative wasn't much better..."

Vance winced, visibly. His agents were all well aware that their lives were on the line whenever they stepped out of the building, but to have an agent hit because of a simple mishap... it made his stomach churn. "Our priority now is finding the one behind all this so it doesn't happen again."

Gibbs was clearly on edge. "I'm making no promises that when we do catch up with him, Leon, that I won't give him a taste of his own brand of justice. No one hurts my agents without having to answer to me."

Pamela's voice filled the office then, " _Director, Office Hadar and Officer Tuvia are here. They would like to speak to you. Should I send them in?"_

"Yes, please," Vance said, hitting the intercom button to answer her. He straightened his tie as the door opened and the two Mossad officers stepped in. "Officer Hadar, Officer Tuvia, thank you for stopping by."

"We came as soon as we heard we have a mutual enemy and about the shooting outside toe federal building," Hadar said. "Tell me, is Agent Callahan alright?"

"Like hell you care about how she's doing!" Gibbs snarled. "If you could have you would have pulled the trigger yourself!"

Vance shot him a look to back down. Gibbs turned away, frustrated. This entire case was unraveling him because it was out of his control. They had no idea who had set this whole thing up and with two agents out, it was making the work harder. McGee was good, but the team really worked at its best if they _all_ worked together.

Hadar could most definitely sympathize with Gibbs; he'd been in that very same position before. "Your frustration is understandable, Agent Gibbs. My question was asked in sincerity. We have no interest in Agent Callahan's death since she no longer poses a threat to our national security."

Gibbs scoffed. Of course Natalie's testimony would make her a threat to Israel's national security—she could have gotten Eli David ousted. Of course, that is, if the inquiry had been real. Now that it was proven the inquiry was a hoax she was not Director David's concern.

"Agent Callahan will make a full recovery," Vance said when he noticed Gibbs was not going to speak. "She was lucky."

"Good. I am glad to hear she will make a full recovery," Hadar said.

"Sure you are," Gibbs snapped. "Why are you really here?"

"We have a common enemy, Agent Gibbs," Liat said. "And we want your help to catch him."

* * *

One thing that Natalie was aware of when she first woke up was the cold. Goose bumps covered her exposed skin and she shivered slightly. The second thing she became aware of was the pressure of the warm body lying on her stomach.

Forcing her eyes open, Natalie saw the room struggle to come into focus but when it did she could clearly see that she was in the hospital. Also, she clearly could see Tony, his head resting on her stomach and fast asleep. Discovering a sling restricted one arm, she reached out with her good arm and rang her fingers through his hair gently. The worried, troubled expression on his face while he slept broke her heart. She wondered how long he had been there... how long she had been here...

Tony stirred feeling her fingers in his hair. Slowly he lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. There was the hint of stubble on his face and he was wearing his sweatshirt that he typically wore to bum around his apartment in, suggesting that perhaps he had not gone home for the evening. When he shifted uncomfortably in his chair he noticed that she was awake. Instantly a relieved smile crept across his handsome face and he sighed, "Hey you."

Natalie returned his smile, sleepily. "Hi," she said in a whisper. "Where... where am I?"

"Bethesda. Doctors have had you sedated since yesterday," Tony answered, grabbing her hand and leaning down to kiss her forehead. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Natalie replied, honestly. "How long do I have to stay here?"

"Just a couple of days for observation," Tony answered, smiling at her. "The doctor wants to make sure your stitches heal and that you don't develop an infection."

"Who... who shot me?"

"Oh... that's not important now, Natalie. What's important is that you focus on healing."

She didn't know why he was trying to protect her. Natalie could see it in his eyes that he was nervous to tell her who had been the one to pull the trigger. "Was it Mossad?"

He glanced down at their entwined fingers, giving a shake of his head. "No. It wasn't Mossad."

Natalie closed her eyes for a moment. She had been certain that somehow Mossad was involved in all this. Her exhaustion was starting to take over, her body was physically and emotionally tired and she didn't know how much longer she could stay awake. She felt a tear make a path down her cheek and then felt it wiped away by Tony. "It's not over," she whimpered. "They'll try again."

Tony pulled her towards him and gently kissed the top of her head. "No. They won't. The inquiry was a giant set-up to get Eli David here... your life isn't in danger, Natalie, it never really was, well except the whole wasp venom dart gun I suppose..."

"I don't understand what you're saying," Natalie replied, opening her eyes and looking at him.

"Shooter wasn't aiming for you," Tony told her, softly. "The shot was meant for Vance."

"Vance?"

"We found out that the inquiry board was a hoax after you were shot—to get Eli here, to murder both Vance and Director David."

She processed that information for a moment. He wasn't sure if she was going to break. A few more tears appeared, running down her face and he wiped them away as well, but she took a deep breath and blew it out. "I'm not surprised that those two worked on something together, probably something that NCIS has little information on, that now might get them both killed. Eli probably has more enemies than all of us combined."

He blinked rapidly for a second, something coming to him that he had not of before. "Wait? What did you say?" he asked, while he dug his cell phone out of his jean pocket and called up Gibbs' number. "Hey boss, have you looked into any past cases that Vance and Eli worked together?"

" _DiNozzo that was the first thing I did..."_

"What if it was something that _we_ weren't supposed to know about?"

Gibbs hung up. Tony grinned at her. "Guess he liked that idea."

Natalie smiled at him, sleepily. "Glad I could help... I think... I think I'm going to go back to sleep now."

Tony leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. "Alright, go back to sleep, darling. I'll be here."

"Anthony?"

"Yes?"

"I love you," Natalie whispered as she fell back to sleep.

"I love you, too," Tony said watching her and counting his lucky stars that she was still alive.


	12. Motive to Kill

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Season 8

 **A/N:** Hello readers! Here's a new post for you, let me know what you think :)

* * *

McGee gently carried the tray of coffees through the hospital, balancing a bag of food on top of it. It had kind of been his unofficial job to keep Tony fed while Natalie was in the hospital. "Hey," he said, as he stepped into Natalie's room. "Brought coffee and dinner."

Tony looked up from the television. He was looking a bit thinner, despite the fact that McGee was making sure he ate, and had dark circles under his eyes. Tony wasn't handling Natalie being shot and almost dying well at all and it was making McGee anxious. The senior field agent untangled his long limbs and gestured towards the tray by Natalie's bed. "You can put it there. I'm not very hungry right now."

"When did you eat last?" McGee questioned, concerned.

"I don't know. This morning when you brought the apple fritter and coffee," Tony said with a shrug.

"Tony, you need to eat something. You look... you look not so well."

"Don't worry about me, McGee. I can take care of myself."

 _Really? Because right now it doesn't appear that way,_ McGee thought placing the coffees and bag down onto the tray. "If Natalie was awake right now what do you think she'd say to you, Tony?"

Tony shot him a glare. He was obviously not in the mood to go a few rounds with McGee. "In between worrying about my appetite, have you, Gibbs, and Mossad figured out yet who wanted Vance dead yet?"

McGee looked briefly at Natalie, asleep in the bed. He shook his head. "No. Currently we're arguing with Mossad on interviewing Director David about an operation he helped Vance with in Amsterdam. Gibbs even called Franks... sounds like there was a lot of secrecy going on. Lots of blacked out pages in the report."

"Cover up. Enough motive to kill if you ask me," Tony mused, glancing back at the television. "Hope Gibbs gets to rough the guy up a bit. Personally I'd like to punch the guy."

"What if it turns out to be a woman?" McGee questioned.

"Then I'll ask Liat or Ziva to do it for me."

"DiNozzo... they weren't _trying_ to hurt Natalie."

Tony shifted his glare back onto his partner. "Doesn't matter, McGee. That bullet came within inches of severing an artery. She could have bled to death in my arms."

McGee frowned. He'd witnessed Tony's vigil by the doors while Natalie had been in surgery. He had been there when she had been shot, as she laid there bleeding and as Tony did his best to stop the blood loss. "Tony, she's fine."

A cell phone ringing ended their conversation and finally woke Natalie up. McGee apologized and went to take the phone call out in the hallway. Tony reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles. Natalie smiled, sleepily. "Tim was just bringing me coffee and dinner. Sorry that we woke you up," Tony said, gently.

"It's okay," Natalie replied, stretching and wincing when the movement caused some pain.

"Do you want some painkillers?" Tony asked, his hand reaching for the button.

"No. I'm fine."

"I have good news. The doctor came in while you were sleeping and said you can go home in the morning."

"Go home or go back to your place so you can baby-sit me?"

"Luna isn't going to take care of you."

Natalie laughed, softly. "Ok, I'll go home with you, but only because I'm going to be couch bound for a few days and you have a great movie collection."

Tony grinned. "Sure my cooking has nothing to do with it?"

Shuffling of feet pulled Tony's attention towards the door. He was slightly surprised to see who was standing there. An older man, graying hair, leaning on a cane of all things was peering into the room at them. "Can I help you?" Tony asked, wearily.

"Oh, sorry, I must have the wrong room," the older gentleman said, quietly limping away.

"What was that all about?" Natalie asked when he was gone.

"So, you thought it was weird too?" Tony inquired. She nodded her head and he sighed. "I'm sure it was nothing," he said, trying to reassure himself.

Natalie was going to say something about his gut when McGee stepped back into the room, gesturing for Tony to join him in the hall. He glanced at her for a moment, as if he was asking permission to leave. She smiled and nodded. "Go on. I think I can entertain myself for a few moments."

Tony got up from his spot and followed McGee. They ducked into a quiet spot so none of the nurses got the urge to eavesdrop on them. "What's going on?" the senior field asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

McGee looked around, tentatively. "Gibbs and the others were able to dig up that information on the case in Amsterdam. Vance was sent there to keep eye on some Russians, but something went wrong... the Russians were tipped off... and they came after Vance."

"It must be the Russians that hired the shooter," Tony mused.

"Looks that way," McGee replied. "Director David still isn't talking. Guess he wants his name cleared from all wrong doing in Somalia before that happens."

"Oh, he does, does he?" Tony snapped. "Well, guess he isn't going to talk because there's no way Vance is going to give him a pass on what happened in Africa."

He was certain that was how Tony was going to react. McGee didn't blame him and was about to agree with him when they heard shouting from the nurses' station and Natalie's room number thrown out. Immediately Tony and McGee took flight. They had left her just seconds before, fine, awake and watching TV. What the hell had happened that the nurses were rushing into her room now?

When they got there, Natalie was sitting up in her bed but the tray of hot coffee was spilled all over someone on the floor. Obviously she had used the coffee as a weapon to defend herself. Why she had needed to defend herself was another question. "I'm okay!" she gasped when she saw the horde of concerned nurses that had been alerted to her blood pressure spiking through their monitors. "He... he tried to choke me," she said when she saw that her partners were not far behind. "Sorry Tim, I used the coffee to protect myself!"

Tony glanced at the mess on the floor, realizing that the older gentleman underneath the coffee was the one that had peeked into her room moments before, perhaps scoping out the situation and waiting until Natalie was alone to make his move. "Well, it might not be pretty, but it was affective, Nat."

"Should I cuff him?" McGee asked, slightly confused as to what was going on. Why would this old man want to hurt Natalie?

"Yes," Tony answered, pulling the guy to his feet. "He attacked a federal agent. Bring him back to NCIS to face Gibbs."

"He's going to wish that he'd left Natalie alone," McGee muttered as he cuffed the old man and started to lead him out of the room.

"She couldn't just die the day she as shot," the old man hissed. McGee stopped, startled, and looked at his partners. "If she had, Eli David would be in prison where he belongs and Vance... well... I would have found another way to deal with him."

Natalie saw Tony clench his fists at his sides, as his lip curled slightly. Somehow she managed to shift and grabbed his arm before he could do something stupid. Her touch brought him back to reality. "Guess we have more than one reason to arrest you then," he said before ordering McGee to take their suspect away. One by one the nurses left as well, promising to send someone to clean up the spilled coffee.

Tony wasn't concerned about that. He crawled up onto the hospital bed with Natalie and pulled her into his arms. He was concerned about someone hurting his partner and if she thought he was overprotective of her now... well... she hadn't seen anything yet.

* * *

Gibbs was stiff. His coffee cup was clenched tightly in his hand as McGee went through the events at the hospital and pulled the photograph of their suspect up on the screen. The young man was shocked to learn that the old man that had tried to choke Natalie at the hospital was a former NCIS agent. "He used to handle mine and Jenny's undercover cases... one of the best around," the team leader mumbled.

Ziva glanced tentatively at McGee and then towards Monique. "I do not remember my father ever speaking about an Agent McCallister. Is it possible that my father never worked with him?"

"Your father met Vance under interesting circumstances from what I gather," Gibbs said, shaking his head and coming out of his stupor. "And it seems that your father stopped a plot to murder Vance way back in the day. Explains why McCallister wanted both Vance and your father dead. The conference that Vance has set up for next month was supposed to discuss Amsterdam."

"It might have all come out that Agent McCallister was the one that sold Vance out to the Russians—that he was a double agent," Hadar said, simply. "Seems like you have a very complicated problem on your hands, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs shot him a glare but he couldn't refute what Hadar was saying. The Israeli was right—he did have a complicated problem on his hands, one that had almost cost an innocent person her life. McCallister was going to answer to him for not only attempting to kill Natalie once—but twice. He finished his coffee in one giant swallow and tossed the cup away with ease. "I assume then that you've come to say good-bye, Officer Hadar."

Hadar grinned and simply nodded his head. "It seems that you do not need me or Officer Tuvia anymore. You have your answers without the help of Director David. Until next time Agent Gibbs, shalom." With that same smirk on his face, Hadar left the bullpen.

"Let's get back to work," Gibbs grumbled, grabbing a folder out of McGee's hands. "Tim make sure that Tony doesn't leave that hospital tonight."

"Doubt he's going anywhere, boss," McGee replied. "He hasn't left since she was shot."

"Loyal to a fault," Gibbs murmured as he proceeded to the interrogation room.

McCallister was stoic. He knew that he'd been caught and there was no going back now. He watched Gibbs enter the room under an emotionless gaze and waited for the former marine to shut the door before speaking. "I'm sorry the girl got caught in the middle of all this. But you know how incredibly cut-throat this business can be, Jethro."

Gibbs pursed his lips immediately glad that Tony was not in the room with him. It would have taken all of Gibbs' strength to keep Tony from beating McCallister to death. "Yes, I do understand that, Riley. Not sure why you felt the need to hire someone to take Vance out but you didn't have to go back to try and finish her off. Natalie might look helpless and defenseless but trust me... she can hold her own when her life is on the line."

His lip twitched. "I needed Eli David to take the fall, Jethro. That way the Amsterdam mess would have continued to be swept under the rug."

Blinking, Gibbs shook his head. "Didn't have to come to this, Riley," he simply stated before standing. "You hurt my agent. I'm going to advise that the lawyer throws the book at you. Too bad, you were a good agent back in the day."

"Don't get too attached, Jethro," McCallister warned him. "That was always your weakness."

* * *

There was an icy rain falling the next morning as Tony drove Natalie to his place. It was making the roads incredibly slick, salt trucks were out trying to keep up with it for the holiday travelers, but even so it was making the drive from the hospital to Tony's place painstakingly slow.

Natalie wanted a hot shower and her shampoo that she kept at his place to wash the smell of the hospital out of her hair and skin. Her arm was still in the sling, still sore where she had been shot and had the operation. Hopefully when the stitches came out in the next couple of weeks the pain would lessen. Tony was insisting that she take some of the painkillers that the doctor had prescribed her but she felt like she had been out of it enough the last few days.

"Ducky is hosting Thanksgiving again," Tony was saying. Natalie focused on him more and less on the pain. "I think he liked having us all there last year."

"Hope he doesn't mind that my parents are coming into town," Natalie mumbled, resting her head against the glass.

"Really? I... I didn't know that," Tony stammered, nervously.

Natalie smiled at him. "What's the matter? Are you afraid to meet the parents?"

Tony adverted his eyes. Wendy's parents had never really liked him... and well, Jeanne's father had probably wanted to kill him... "It's just... it's never gone well for me in the past... in fact, it was always disaster."

She shifted, painfully, and reached for the hand that was resting on his stick shift. "Tony. Those past disasters as you call them do not define how this is going to go. My parents are interested in meeting you."

He looked at her briefly, surprise on his face. "Really? They are?"

"You seemed surprised by that."

"Like I said—this has never gone well for me in the past before."

"Maybe this time things will be different," Natalie said, softly.

"I hope so, because I really want your parents to like me, Nat," Tony replied, seriously.

Natalie gently rubbed the back of his hand. "They will, Tony. Trust me."

Tony's shoulders eased as he pulled his car into his parking space outside his building. He shifted the car into park. Slowly he turned towards her and pulled her close to him, pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "I want us to work. Which is why I want your parents to like me so badly."

She wasn't sure what he meant by wanting them to work, but as she started to question him, Tony was out of the car and walking around it to open her door and grab her bag. Upstairs in the apartment it was harder for him to get away from her question. "What do you mean by you want us to work?"

He looked at her, surprised. "I want us to have a future, Natalie. Plain and simple. I want us to last."

"Last?" Natalie breathed, flopping down onto the couch, her heart hammering in her chest. "Are you saying... are you saying that you want to get married...someday?"

"Does that scare you?" Tony asked with a chuckle as he sat down with her. Gently he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Maybe... a little," Natalie confessed, nuzzling his shoulder.

"Scares me too, darling," he informed her, softly. "I promised myself I would never love another woman like I loved Wendy ever again to protect myself, and yet, it happened."

Natalie smiled at this thought. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him. He did make her feel incredibly safe and loved. Perhaps, spending the rest of her life with him wasn't that scary after all.

Tony noticed that she was falling asleep. He eased her onto the sofa and tucked a blanket around her. He was feeling a bit exhausted himself now that the case was closed and Mossad was far away from Natalie once again. But his apartment really was a mess...

Someone knocked on the door softly. Tony glanced at his watch. He wasn't expecting Gibbs for another thirty minutes. The man was like clockwork. He would let Tony settle Natalie in before coming to check on them. Peering out the peephole he was surprised to find Ziva. Unlocking the door he opened it and whispered, "Ziva? What are you doing here?"

Ziva bit down on her lower lip. "I just needed to know before I leave and head back to Europe with Monique—if I had stayed, if I had not given that stupid choice to Gibbs, would you have loved me like you love her?"

"You can't ask questions like that," Tony told her, sadly. "We don't know what would have happened."

"I am asking, Tony," Ziva said, curtly, "I'm asking because I need to know so I can move on and let go. Would you have loved me like you love her?"

It was hard to imagine loving anyone else but Natalie. Tony anxiously looked at his girlfriend sleeping on the sofa, comfortably snuggled underneath a warm blanket. He looked back at Ziva and said, earnestly, "I don't know. You're very different than her, Ziva. Not saying that's a bad thing, but when it comes to love... she's what I was looking for. So, would I have loved you like I love her if you had stayed—no, I don't think so, because you're different... you have required a different kind of love... if that makes sense."

Her dark eyes glistened for a second. "If I was not so foolish I could have been more like her, but I was foolish. Blind, really, because my father basically taught me that my life had no room for people to love me. Even if he filled my head with stories when I was a little girl about love and family. In Somalia and after I knew that they were lies; it made me angry. You and Natalie were the perfect people to take that anger out on."

"It's not too late, Ziva," Tony assured her. "For you. It might be for us, but for you... you could have it."

"For now, I am happy being able to let go," Ziva said with a sad smile. "Who knows what that will bring."

Tony shyly nodded and watched as she took his face in her hands, kissed his cheek, chastely and bid him farewell with a soft _shalom._ Closing the door behind her, he latched the look and gazed at Natalie. _Screw cleaning the apartment,_ he thought as he went to lay down with her. Wrapping her safely in his arms and pulling the blanket around them, he realized that he would never love another woman like he loved Natalie.


	13. Meet the Parents

**Warnings:** None for this chapter, it's more fluff than anything

 **A/N:** I have a few fluffy chapters lined up before getting back into the meat of the story. Hope you enjoy! **Thank you everyone that continues to favorite, follow, and review this story. Your support is very much appreciated.**

* * *

Dulles International Airport was crowded the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Tony noticed that the jostling crowd while they waited was causing Natalie pain but she was refusing to take the painkillers and she had abandoned the sling because she had told her mother the gunshot wound hadn't been that bad.

Natalie had found a small nook where the crowd couldn't move her around and she was standing with her back against the wall, nursing her shoulder. _Like her mother isn't going to notice that,_ Tony thought with mild amusement.

"Your sling is in the glove compartment of my car," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. "I can go get it."

"I'm fine," Natalie replied through clenched teeth. "Advil should be kicking in any moment now."

"Advil isn't powerful enough for this," Tony provided. "You need to take the meds the doctor gave you for a few days."

"I'm sorry, when you did you go back to school and become _Doctor DiNozzo?"_ Natalie snapped with a glare.

Tony chuckled and leaned in closer, pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "I just don't like seeing you in such obvious pain. Why are you so afraid of what your mother is going to think if she knew that the wound was serious?"

Natalie chewed on her lower lip. "Because she'll try to convince me to come home to Boston and then we'll have this big huge fight and ruin everyone's holiday. After Somalia she wouldn't talk to me for months when I called. Not until I came to my senses and came home."

"What changed her mind?" he asked, honestly.

"My dad. He told her that obviously I was being well taken care of," she confessed. "Guess it was apparent to him how I felt about you back then even if I didn't know it."

Grinning at her, he reached out with his finger and gently brushed it along her arm. "I knew back then how I felt about you. But I kept trying to deny it."

She felt color rising to her cheeks. It amazed her that after all this time together, after they had slept together, seen each other naked... the way he looked at her could still make her blush. His lips captured hers in a hot kiss, his hands glided around her waist and held her there firmly, but he made sure to treat her sore shoulder delicately.

A deep, gruff cough, followed by an equally deep gruff voice, broke the pair apart. "I hope that's Tony you're kissing," a man that looked an awful lot like Natalie said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Otherwise, meeting him is going to be awkward if I know there's another man, Natalie."

Natalie quickly swiped the back of her hand over her mouth. Nervously her eyes darted up towards Tony. "Dad, of course this is Tony," she said. "Tony, this is my father—Thomas Callahan."

"Call me Tom," the older man said, holding his hand out for Tony to shake. "I always found Thomas much too formal. Glad to finally meet you; Natalie chats a lot about you."

"Does she now?" Tony quipped, grinning wickedly at her. "Never pictured her a gossipy teenager."

"Regular chatty Kathy that one," Tom said, laughing.

"Dad!" Natalie snapped, begging him to stop. "Where's Mom?"

Tom gestured over his shoulder. "Restroom. You know your mother—hates to use the plane's bathroom. Thank God it was a short flight."

Natalie recalled countless flights with her parents throughout the years where her mother refused the complimentary beverage because she didn't want to use the restroom on the plane. "You brought an awful lot of luggage for only a few days."

Tony could instantly see the tension in Tom's shoulders. Were her parents planning on staying longer and didn't inform Natalie? And Natalie, being the investigator that she was instantly picked up on it. _Oh boy,_ he thought, anxiously.

"Dad, why did you bring so much luggage?"

"Your mother has it in her head that she's going to convince you to come home. The empty suitcase is for you."

She glared at her father. "I'm _not_ going back to Boston."

Her father frowned. "Could you at least indulge your mother a bit so we can have a nice holiday?"

Natalie clenched her jaw. She had been through this before, loads of times, the most recent being after her return from Somalia and medical leave. "Fine," she hissed, not entirely happy that she was going to have the same argument with her mother again. "I'll try to indulge her for a little while."

Tony reached down and grabbed Natalie's hand as her mother approached. Rebecca Callahan was elegant, beautiful—held herself in a slightly different manner than Natalie or Tom did and Tony was more intimidated by her than by Natalie's father.

Rebecca pushed her sleek, black designer handbag over her shoulder and smiled at Tony. "Finally, we get to meet you, Special Agent DiNozzo. There were some days I wasn't sure if Natalie was ever going to invite us down here to introduce us. And she hardly ever comes to Boston anymore; seems she's rather content to stay down in D.C with you."

"Ah, well, the last few months have been rather hectic. There wasn't... um... time," Tony confessed with a shrug of his shoulders. He gave Rebecca his most beaming, charming smile. "Hope it doesn't change your opinion of me."

"Oh, I don't judge that quickly, Tony," Rebecca assured him. "It's hard to hate a man that has taken such good care of my daughter through so many injuries. And there have been quite a few of them. Sometimes I wonder if this job has been a curse for Natalie."

"Mom... please," Natalie begged. "Can we just get through the holiday without you complaining about my new job? I know you're not happy that I'm here, in D.C, and not in Boston anymore. But _I'm_ happy. Can we just leave it at that?"

Rebecca looked like she didn't want to leave it at that but she smiled tightly. "Very well. Shall we go? I would like to get something to eat before we check into the hotel for the night. I was hoping that you and Tony would join us."

Tony could feel Natalie's tension. She was obviously in a lot of pain and had been hoping to drop her parents off at their hotel, make plans for the following day, and be done with it. "Mr. and Mrs. Callahan you're more than welcome to come to my place for dinner. Believe it or not, I can actually cook."

Natalie was too stunned to protest that Tony had invited her parents back to his apartment. Her mother accepted the invitation, gladly before her daughter could even register what was going on. She watched her parents walk away, pulling their luggage behind them, and turned towards Tony. "What are we going to feed them? Life, as you said earlier, has been a little hetic!"

"When you were sleeping earlier I stepped out to pick up steaks and all the fixings," Tony said with a shrug.

"You... you did?"

"I did. I want to make a good impression, Nat."

"Okay, you want to make a good impression... don't call me that in front of my mother."

Laughing, Tony reached down and grabbed her hand. He gave it a squeeze. "Fine. At least back at my place you can rest in a comfortable chair _and_ take your pain killers if you need them."

Natalie shook her head. "No way... I am not going into a pain killer induced haze in front of my mother. She'll have me on a flight back to Boston before I know what's going on. The whole point of inviting her here was for her to see that _this_ is the best place for me. I'll suffer a little pain to make sure that happens."

* * *

Tony heard footsteps behind him while he prepared dinner. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Rebecca watching him closely. "Dinner should be ready soon," he said.

Rebecca nodded her head. "Good, this will give us a few moments to talk alone. You care about my daughter, am I right?"

"Yes," he replied, not sure where she was going with this. "I care about her a lot, in fact."

"So, you want what is best for her," she stated, quirking an eyebrow.

It was obvious that Tony was going to have to tread carefully in this situation. While he certainly understood where Rebecca was coming from because he did have an intense desire to keep Natalie safe—the idea of Natalie returning home to Boston made him slightly heart broken. "Of course I want what is best for her but I can't force her to do something that she doesn't want to do."

There was no doubt in her mind that Tony cared about Natalie. No doubt at all since it was obvious that he was the one that watched out for Natalie. Rebecca just wanted him and her daughter to see that Natalie needed to be back in Boston. It was the best place for her. "Natalie certainly has to forge her own path. If only she would forge it back home."

Tony stirred the sauce for their steaks. "Being a cop in Boston has its dangers."

Rebecca clenched the wine glass in her hand. "If I had my wish she wouldn't be in law enforcement."

"She's good at it," Tony countered.

"And that hasn't mattered much, has it? She still has ended up in the hospital," Rebecca tossed at him. "Tony, I've already lost one child. Every time that phone rings I fear that it is the call—the one to inform me that I've lost yet another child."

"Mrs. Callahan, I wish that I could promise you that you'll never get that phone call," Tony whispered. "As your daughter's partner I swear I do my best to keep her safe... but I learned something the last time—even I can't protect her from everything."

She looked away for a second and sipped her wine. Rebecca knew that bringing the empty suitcase was a lost cause and she knew that she probably wasn't going to get Tony on her side. "I just want her to have some kind of a future that doesn't involve so much violence and death."

He chuckled and shut the oven off. If he was to ever marry Natalie and they had children, Tony wanted her nowhere near the field. With her talents there were other things she could be doing for law enforcement that didn't require her being a field agent. "This might be hard to believe, Mrs. Callahan, but I have that same wish for her."

Rebecca looked surprised. "Have you thought that far ahead?"

Tony smiled at her, broadly. "Yeah. I have."

Natalie interrupted them then when she came into the kitchen wincing and looking for the bottle of Advil. "What are you talking about?" she asked, opening the cabinets.

"My favorite topic—you," Tony teased with a grin. Suddenly, he frowned and moved towards her. "Natalie. You're bleeding."

"What?"

"Your neck, it's bleeding."

Gently he peeled back her shirt to reveal that the bandage covering her stiches was soaked with blood. Tony frowned at her. "You popped your stiches," he scolded her. "I told you not to take that sling off."

Her mother closed her eyes and sighed, "Natalie. Why do you insist on defying the doctor's orders?" Rebecca put her wine glass down onto the counter. "Come on, your father and I will take you to the emergency room."

Tony had taken the bandage off and was holding a kitchen towel to Natalie's neck. "That's okay, Mrs. Callahan, I can take her. Dinner is ready so help yourself. We shouldn't be too long."


	14. JD

**A/N:** I know I said I had some fluffy chapters coming up, but I guess I had forgotten what I had written lol (there is a fluffy Thanksgiving dinner with the team at Ducky's house at some point, I know I wrote that). Anyways, enjoy this update! Last one before the New Year, so happy 2016 readers!

* * *

Natalie stood, slightly disgruntled, in the elevator as it rose up to Tony's floor. She had been given painkillers and a new sling—as well as strict orders from the doctor that if she showed up again with her stiches undone he was going to admit her.

Tony watched as she slumped back against the wall, the painkillers starting to take affect. "When we get back to my apartment—bedtime for you," he said, smiling. "Those meds are going to put you out cold."

"I still need to get my parents to their hotel," Natalie argued, half-heartedly.

"I can drive them," Tony offered.

"No!" she cried, her eyes getting wide. "You, alone, with my parents? That won't end well for me!"

"Hey, I'm on your side," he replied, chuckling. "Promise, I won't agree to anything that requires you moving back to Boston."

Natalie burst into tears then. Tony wasn't used to this sort of reaction to the medication from her. They usually made her sleepy and dazed, not have flat out emotional breakdowns. Apparently her parents being in town had some sort of affect on her as well. "I just wanted them to see that I'm fine here! That I'm happy with you and Gibbs and McGee and that this job is what I want!"

Tony pulled her into his arms and stroked her back. "Okay, okay. Calm down. No one is forcing you back to Boston—especially me. This is just the medication talking. You know, they gave you a pretty powerful dose since you refused to take them all day."

She sniffled and slumped against him, and was quiet. He gently helped her back to his apartment, leaning her against him while he fumbled with the keys to let them in. Tony wasn't surprised to find the apartment empty. He figured that her parents would find a way back to their hotel since it had taken Tony and Natalie so long at the emergency room. He led Natalie to the bedroom, eased her down onto his bed and got her out of her jacket and shoes. It was easy to tuck her limp body into the covers—he was pretty sure she had fallen asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Shutting the light off, Tony headed towards the kitchen to clean up but found that Natalie's mother had already done so. She had left him a note thanking him for dinner and that the leftovers were in the refrigerator. Perhaps, he had made a better impression on her parents than he believed.

As he warmed up some leftovers, his cell phone rang, shrilly, on the counter. Tony frowned at the device as he went to answer it. "McGee," he snapped, "it's almost midnight."

" _I know, Tony,_ " Tim said, sounding scattered on the phone. " _But I've been trying to reach you for two hours."_

"Why? What's going on?" Tony asked, suddenly feeling the urge to vomit. Something bad had to have happened if McGee was calling this late. "What happened?"

" _Marine helicopter_ _went down in Virginia,"_ Tim replied. " _No survivors."_

"Oh, training accident," Tony sighed, "For a moment there, McGee, you had me worried that something worse was going on."

" _You didn't let me finish!_ " McGee snapped. " _This wasn't an accident. The pilot reported hearing an explosion from inside the chopper. Shrapnel from an explosive was found. A bomb, Tony! It was a bomb! That's why I've been trying to reach you for two hours!"_

Tony pushed his plate away from him, suddenly losing his appetite. He tentatively glanced towards the bedroom. Natalie would be asleep for a long time thanks to the pain killers. He didn't need to stay behind to take care of her. It sounded like he was needed elsewhere anyways. "Natalie's down for the count," he stated. "But I'll be there. Just, text me the location."

Tim sputtered, nervously. " _Gibbs was hoping Natalie was available. She's our profiler."_

"Yeah, well, she isn't going to be much help doped up on painkillers."

" _How bad is she?"_

"She was crying like a dumped teenage girl fifteen minutes ago."

 _"Are you going to be able to leave her alone?"_

Tony found his weapon, keys, and badge. One final glance towards Natalie asleep in the bedroom, he replied, "Not like I have a choice, Tim."

* * *

Skies over Virginia were just starting to turn pink when a small sedan pulled up to the crime scene tape. The NCIS team had been working all night collecting evidence, Ducky and Jimmy had brought the bodies back to D.C to be examined—Thanksgiving dinner was decidedly postponed.

Natalie shut her car down and stared at the field. She had found the team by putting together Tony's vague texts and then finally calling Jimmy and sweet talking her way to find out the team's whereabouts. Swallowing, she suddenly wished she had just left things alone. In the middle of a frosted field lay the twisted, burnt out remains of a Marine chopper.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gibbs shouted at her through the closed window, rapping on the glass. "DiNozzo said he had you at the ER last night!"

"I'm following the doctor's orders," Natalie said, lowering the window. A blast of cold air hit her in the face. "My arm is still in the sling!"

Gibbs growled at her and opened her door. Not saying a word the team leader went back to the crime scene. Natalie quickly followed behind him, slipping booties on over her shoes and stumbling slightly as she struggled to put them on with only her good arm. Ducking underneath the crime scene tape she made her way towards the rest of the team, noticing that the glassy eyed cop guarding the tape eyed her curiously. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"

Tony glared at her. "Apparently the memo to stay home and in bed," he snapped.

Tim was a bit more forgiving and looked at her sadly. "Looks like an explosive. We found shrapnel in the wreckage. Sending them back for Abby to analyze."

"Is this the detonator?" Natalie asked, pointing towards the burnt shell of a smart phone.

"Yeah. Not sure I'll be able to trace it," Tim said, discouraged.

"What was the bomb concealed in?" she inquired, looking around her.

"This backpack," Tony said holding the evidence bag up. "Or what's left of it. This wasn't a very powerful bomb. Just enough to bring the chopper down."

Natalie took the clear evidence bag from him. Inside there were the remains of a navy blue L.L Bean bag, embroidered with the initials _JD._ "Was JD one of the crew?"

Tony shook his head. "Not according to the crew roster."

Tim supplied, "Base commander didn't recognize the pack as belonging to one of his men."

"No one is taking responsibility for the bomb. I checked with Intel before coming here," Natalie said, dropping the evidence bag onto a pile. "If you were a terrorist that had just taken out a chopper full of Marines wouldn't you be advertising it?"

"Maybe Intel is just listening to the wrong chatter," Tony argued. "Obviously this is an act of terrorism—a bomb on a military helicopter. You can try to spin this anyway you want, Natalie. Fact is—you can't."

Natalie and Tim watched as Tony stalked away. She looked towards Tim, sheepishly. "He's taking this one hard."

Tim licked his lips. "We've been out here all night, shifting through the wreckage."

"It's not the wreckage that's making him act that way."

"We ride in these choppers all the time, Natalie. It could have been us."

Natalie felt ill to her stomach. Regardless if this was an act of terrorism—which right now all evidence was suggesting that it was—Tim was right. They did ride in those choppers and planes all the time. Easily, it could have been their flight that was targeted. "All the more reason to find out who did this."

Tim gave his head a little shake and muttered something under his breath. She wasn't sure but she thought he said, _happy Thanksgiving._

* * *

"I found traces of common explosives that terrorists use when making bombs," Abby reported. "Have you heard any chatter at all?"

"None," Natalie said, wincing. She wanted to take her arm out of the sling so she at least felt useful but was sure if she did that she'd be sent home. "No one is claiming responsibility. It's weird. It has all the markings of a terrorist attack..."

Abby frowned. "Maybe that's what the suspect wants us to believe."

Natalie hadn't even thought of the possibility that the bombing was a really just to murder one person. That made her sicker to her stomach than the thought of a terrorist act. "Abby, would someone really murder that many people just to kill one?"

"Well, how do you explain no one taking responsibility then?"

"I... don't know."

"There was nothing else on the backpack but the explosives, oh and the cell phone that Tim found," Abby continued. "The bomb was wired to the cell phone. Set the timer and when the timer was up... the bomb exploded."

"Pilot had no time to react," Natalie said, rubbing her temple. "Even if he did have time... there was no where to land that helicopter. Closest open field was at least fifty miles from where they went down."

Abby angrily twirled on her foot and looked at the evidence that had been brought her to her. "I have a lot of work to do. I'd like to find the person responsible for killing those marines and ruining our Thanksgiving."

Natalie pursed her lips. She wouldn't argue that _her_ holiday had been ruined; after all, she had been facing hours of dealing with her mother's begging for her to go back home to Boston. _A terrorist attack on a Marine transport is not going to help my cause,_ she thought as she left Abby to her work. At least it was still early enough in the morning that her parents weren't up yet, calling and checking in on her.

Having to go to the ER the previous night and get a strong dose of the painkillers had spared her at least _one_ evening of having to justify her reasons for staying in D.C. She climbed into the elevator and hit the button for the bullpen. Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes and went over the case. Nothing was making sense. Pretty standard bomb, but not enough explosives to tear the chopper to pieces—the crew had died in the crash. It was the fact that no one was claiming they were responsible for the attack, which really bothered her.

She opened her eyes when she heard the doors open. Stepping out, Natalie found the bullpen empty with the exception of Tim. "Where did Gibbs and Tony go?" she asked, arriving at her desk.

Tim looked up from his work. "Autopsy to check in with Ducky and then to get breakfast."

Natalie sat down at her desk. "Did anyone figure out who _JD_ is?"

"Not yet. Gibbs wants us working the terrorist angle. I've been in contact with Homeland and NSA."

"Anything I can do?"

"Sorry, no. Still wanting for my contact at Homeland to get back to me."

"Do you think Gibbs would mind if I look into this _JD_ thing?"

Tim shook his head. "He'd rather you be looking into something than just sitting there."

Natalie really wished she could take the sling off now so she had more ability to use her computer. Now, she understood why she had been told not to come into work even for desk duty. Pushing her discomfort aside, she began to work on finding out who that backpack had originally belonged too.

* * *

Gibbs noticed that Tony hadn't said much in the car ride back to the Navy Yard. "Everything okay, DiNozzo?"

Tony sighed, inwardly and shrugged his shoulders. "Keep thinking about Natalie's parents. They want her to go home, to Boston, you know. Her mother thinks this job is far too dangerous for her daughter."

"Well, she isn't far off from the truth," Gibbs stated.

"I know. Pulling Natalie onto this case isn't going to help matters," Tony said.

"I need my whole team, DiNozzo."

"Yeah, I know, boss."

Gibbs took his eyes off the road for a second and glanced at Tony. "You afraid she's going to go back to Boston?"

Tony shrugged, again. "It would fit with the pattern of women leaving me." He shook off his bad feelings and put on a fake smile. "But Natalie's different. She wants to be with me and gets me and isn't afraid to tell me I'm an idiot from time to time. She isn't going to leave."

He could tell that Tony was putting on a front to hide his fears. Gibbs sighed and pulled the Charger off the highway. "Listen, DiNozzo," he said. "I can't sit here and tell you that everything is going to work out—that she's going to stay—but I can sit here and tell you that once, you came to me, and told me she was worth fighting for."

His green eyes filled with understanding, even as the fake smile fell from his face. "She is, Gibbs. My father, when he was sober enough, would always tell me as a boy to find a woman worth fighting for and to keep her happy. I think he blamed himself for my mother's death, that he didn't do enough to keep her happy and with us. I want to keep Natalie happy, I want to keep her here, in D.C with me—with us. She makes us all better, boss."

"Natalie isn't Wendy," Gibbs simply said.

"I know," Tony answered simply.

"Good. I need your head in the game, Tony. I depend on you."

"I know. And my head is in the game, boss."

Gibbs didn't say a word. He nodded, curtly.

Tony grinned and chuckled, lightly, "As usual—nice chat, boss."

* * *

 _I have been thinking about how to get McGee more involved in the story. Any suggestions? I have a few in mind myself..._


	15. One Door Closes, Another Opens

**Spoilers for Season 13 News in the Author's Note.**

 **A/N:** By now I assume that most of you have heard that Michael is leaving at the end of Season 13. I am incredibly grateful for him sharing his talent and this character with us for thirteen years but there comes a time when even beloved characters/actors have to move on. Michael has his own production company, is pitching an idea to the CW for the fall; I doubt this is the last we'll hear from him. Right now my little McNozzo heart is breaking *sniff*. So thank you, Michael, for all the great moments and memories on NCIS, we'll all look back with a smile :)

And just so you know, NO, I will not stop writing. There are always lots of stories that can still be told!

* * *

Somehow, Natalie had traced the ownership of the backpack. Tony wasn't going to question how—it was their first lead in this case. After breakfast, Tony and Tim had been given the pleasure—if one wanted to call it that—of interrupting a nice, quiet, family Thanksgiving dinner in a nice, white picket fence neighborhood.

Carting a thirteen year old out of his family dinner wasn't going to get Tony and Tim on the nice list, although the boy's grandmother, convinced that her grandson was innocent, had offered them each a slice of pie before leaving. Smartly they turned it down.

Tony slipped into the Observation Room and found Natalie getting ready to watch Gibbs' interrogation. She had been put off when Gibbs ordered her to stay at her desk. The sling prevented her from doing active fieldwork, and going to pick up a suspect was just that. Standing in Observation, watching, was as far as Gibbs was probably going to let her travel.

Natalie didn't bother to look up at him when he came to stand next to her. "This doesn't feel right," she told him. "A thirteen year old?"

"Hey, no one said that this was going to make sense," Tony replied. "We went to the address that you traced the backpack too and this was who claimed ownership."

"And you think _he_ made the bomb?" she questioned.

"No, but he might know someone that did," he answered.

She moved closer to the glass and winced when her shoulder stung. Since showing up at the crime scene and pretty much putting herself on the case, Natalie had not taken any painkillers. She also had not sat down for very long.

He noticed immediately that she was in pain. Tony frowned. "You should go home and rest. Have dinner with your parents, and apologize to them that the rest of us can't be there right now. I'm sure they'll understand."

Natalie shook her head. "I don't need to go home."

Tony ground his teeth and clenched his fists. "Stop being stubborn. I don't want to have you back at the emergency room, Nat."

Gray eyes slowly, and sheepishly looked up at him. Natalie bit down on her lower lip nervously. "If I hadn't been injured we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Moving closer to her, Tony leaned against the wall. "But you were injured. Look, you did your job; you found the lead. Now, go home and rest."

"What about Gibbs? He said he needs all of us..."

"Gibbs wasn't with you at the ER last night and he certainly doesn't know how much pain you're in."

"I'm fine."

"Like hell you are."

Natalie quickly looked away, into the interrogation room at the scared thirteen-year-old boy. Gibbs swiftly entered the room and quietly sat down at the table. He took a sip of his coffee and flipped open a manila folder.

Gibbs placed a piece of paper down onto the table. " _One of my agents tracked the sale of a bag used in a bombing last night to your address."_ Neither the boy nor his mother had anything to say, so Gibbs continued. " _You don't seem like the type of person to bomb a helicopter, Jacob. You seem like a nice kid."_

Jacob glanced at his mother and shrugged his shoulders. " _The bag was stolen from me."_

" _And you never filed a report? You must have had something of value in the backpack. MP3 player, cell phone..."_

" _Nope. Nothing worth reporting to the police."_

Tony pursed his lips. "He's covering for someone."

Natalie agreed. "Yes, but who?"

Gibbs wasn't buying it either. He pulled out another piece of paper. " _You have a neighbor stationed at Quantico. We found a photograph of him online, hiking, using your backpack. Did you let him borrow it?"_ Again no one said anything, and Gibbs stood up, grabbing his coffee. " _Someone will be in to take your fingerprints, Jacob. Then we have to run them... which could take hours..."_

" _Okay, fine, I let Travis borrow my pack!"_ Jacob shouted. " _I forget that he even had it!"_

With one look into the glass, Gibbs silently communicated what he wanted from Tony. Natalie followed her partner out into the hall just as Gibbs was exiting the Interrogation room. Tony nodded his head at the lead agent, "I'll go get McGee and pick up Travis."

Natalie jumped at the chance to get out of the office. "I'll go," she volunteered. Immediately both men turned to glare at her. "I'm suffering some cabin fever here!"

"You're not going anywhere," Gibbs snapped.

"Unless it's to go home and rest," Tony added.

"I said I was fine," Natalie argued.

Gibbs continued to glare at her while he gave Tony orders. "You and McGee bring Travis back here. I'm going to call legal and get a warrant to search his apartment. If he was making a bomb in there, there will be traces."

Tony nodded. "Got it, boss. Probie and I will check in once we have Travis."

Natalie watched him walk away with a wounded look in her eyes.

Gibbs smiled and turned to go, "If you want to get out of the building, Callahan, you can always go pick up lunch!"

* * *

When Travis Adams came to the door of his apartment, it was clear that he was not their guy. His face was the color of ash and he held a bucket in his arms, protectively as he looked at the two agents underneath a feverish glance. "Can I help you?"

Tony winced and held his credentials up. "Special Agent DiNozzo, NCIS. Did you recently borrow a backpack from your neighbor, Jacob Cambell?"

Adams nodded. "Yeah. About a month or so ago. I was going hiking with some buddies and needed one. That reminds me—I need to return it. Did NCIS really come out to investigate a missing backpack?"

"No, the bag was used in the bombing of a Marine helicopter," Tony stated, searching the young man's face for a reaction. Adams' eyes went wide and a look of shock passed over his face. "Judging from your health... I'd say you've been locked up in your apartment for a few days."

"Five," Adams replied. "Had a party over the weekend and thought it was a hangover. I was wrong. You came here thinking that I did it? No way, I know nothing about explosives. I'm going to flight school in three weeks. Why would I bring a helicopter down?"

Tony looked at McGee. "Can you give us a list of the people at your party?"

Adams looked even more shocked now. "You think someone at my party did it? Most of them were active duty marines, sir."

"Can we just have the list please so we can run background checks?" Tony insisted.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go write it down now," Adams said. "You're welcome to come in."

Tony shook his head looking at the bucket that the young marine was carrying around. "We're good, thanks."

Adams shrugged his shoulders and disappeared into his apartment.

"What do you think, McGee?"

"I'm thinking that I better not catch what he has."

"About the case, Probie!"

"Oh... I think we're even less in the dark now than we were before."

Sadly, Tony had to agree with him. Natalie's promising lead was starting to look not so promising after all. Instead of closing the case, her lead was sending them on a wild goose chase.

Adams returned with the list and handed it to Tony. "Hope this helps," he said, before doubling over and vomiting into his bucket. "If you need me... you'll know where to find me." He slammed the door shut.

Tony and Tim headed back towards their car. Inside the Charger, Tony shoved the list at Tim and said, "Here, send this to Natalie. At least she can get a head start on this—maybe our clue sniffing agent will pull another lead out of her hat."

Starting the car up while McGee texted Natalie the list, Tony couldn't help but think that this was turning out to be the worst Thanksgiving he had ever celebrated—and in his family there had been quite a few disasters around the holiday but none of them were comparing to this.

* * *

"Ah, what is this?" Tim asked, pointing to the sandwich in the plastic container that had been left on his desk.

"It's lunch!" Natalie said with a smile. "Thanksgiving on a French roll! Didn't your mom make turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce the next day?"

Tim shook his head. "No. She didn't. What happened to going to Beltway Burgers?"

Natalie's smile faded just a little bit. "Well, I thought these would be good since it's Thanksgiving and we're not getting dinner until we close this case. Try it, Tim! They're not as good as my mom used to make but I bet they're still yummy!"

"I don't know..."

Tony could see Natalie was a little dejected. She was trying to find some way to be involved in this case more than just sitting behind her desk. He slightly glared at his partner, and ordered, "Tim. Just eat your sandwich."

Tim quietly unwrapped his sandwich and while the others eagerly ate them down, he gingerly picked at his. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Natalie bringing them lunch... he was just particular about what he ate. He quickly changed his attitude when Tony threw him a glare over his shoulder that said _I'm going to kick your butt if you don't eat this._ He did not want to be on Tony's bad side—especially where Natalie was involved. "Thanks for bringing lunch, Natalie."

Natalie smiled, relieved. "Before I went to get lunch I started to work on that list you sent. So far nothing, but I'm only half way through it," she said as the elevator signaled its arrival on their floor. "It shouldn't take me very long to finish this list up."

Gibbs arrived in the bullpen, tray of coffee in his hand. "Talk to me."

"Still looking for a connection between the party guests, the backpack, and the bombing," Tony reported.

"So far all I've learned is that Travis Adams' friends are hardcore partiers," Natalie replied. "Their photographs were all up on social media."

"Put those photographs up on the plasma," Gibbs ordered her. He turned towards Tony. "You're sure that Travis Adams didn't do it?"

Tony nodded. "Unless he carried a bucket with him everywhere he went, I doubt it was him. Looks like he hadn't left the apartment in weeks and he was about as green as they come. Legal called and said they got our warrant if you want McGee and I to go back and search the apartment—in hazmat suits."

Gibbs shook his head and jabbed his finger towards the plasma screen. "You won't have too. Natalie, zoom in on that face." She pressed a few keys on her keyboard and the face appeared closer and clearer on the plasma screen. "Does he look familiar to you?"

Natalie, Tim, and Tony all looked at the screen. "Wait a second..." Tim said, grabbing the clicker and changing the screen to the photograph of the pilot and co-pilot of the helicopter. "Hey... that's a different co-pilot than the one we identified already."

"Let's go, DiNozzo, McGee," Gibbs said, grabbing his gear; Tony and McGee followed suit.

"What about me?" Natalie asked, hopefully.

Gibbs tossed her a set of keys. She smiled at first until she realized they were _her_ keys. "Go home. Take a painkiller and rest."

Natalie set her jaw and was about to argue, but Gibbs glared at her, affectively silencing her. She grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and headed towards the elevator.

Tony wanted to go after her but he could see the fire in Gibbs' eyes to solve this case. He would have to check in with Natalie later because he'd rather deal with her wrath than have to deal with Gibbs' wrath. "Where do we start, boss?"

"We start at that bastard's apartment," Gibbs snapped," And we get a warrant to arrest his ass."

* * *

It was hours later, after Gibbs had sent her home that Natalie gave up on getting an update. It was obvious that Gibbs didn't want her in the loop to keep her at home. She headed out into the chilly evening and met up with her parents to have dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Rebecca could see that Natalie was upset. She reached out and smoothed her daughter's hair. "Are you okay, honey?"

"None of this went according to plan!" Natalie cried, letting a few tears leak out. "I wanted you to see that I'm fine here, that everyone watches out for me."

"Honey, we didn't need to have dinner with your team to see that," Rebecca confessed.

"You didn't?"

"No."

Tom smiled at her warmly. "Tony driving you to the emergency room last night was proof enough that you're in good hands, pumpkin."

Natalie looked at her father, surprised. "Really?"

Rebecca leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Yes. Really. Tony cares about you, a lot. I feel better knowing that you have surrounded yourself with good people, honey. I may not like how dangerous your job is, but at least I can take comfort in the fact that there are plenty of people here to do their best to keep you safe."

"So," the younger woman said, "You're not going to make me go back to Boston?"

"No. I am not going to make you go back to Boston," Rebecca replied.

For the first time that day, Natalie felt a real smile cross her face and as she reached out to hug her mother she was happy that Gibbs had forced her to go home and rest.


	16. You Win Some, You Lose Some

**A/N:** Happy weekend everyone! I know this has been a rough week for us NCIS fans. I decided in this chapter to take out the Thanksgiving dinner scene, it was way too cheesy, even for me, so I'll leave how that dinner went up to your imagination!

 **amaia-** _I took that scene with the bucket guy from the show pretty much, it happened in another episode. I think it was Tony and McGee in that scene too, I loved it so much I had to put something_ _like that in here. And thank you for compliments to my writing. I love these characters like family (silly I know) so it is nice to hear when readers feel that I'm getting them right._

* * *

It felt like his nose was going to fall off. If Tony had believed it to be cold in Washington, it was ten times colder up here at the border of Vermont and Canada. _How they hell did we get here in the first place?_ Tony wondered, glancing around at the scene.

He knew the answer to that obviously. They had tracked their suspect, Howard Ayers, all the way up here to the Green Mountains. Gibbs, Tony, and McGee had been following his trail since they made the discovery that he had been an imposter on the military base, having killed a marine that he had a startling resemblance too on the flight crew. Military police were combing the surrounding area of Quantico for the body...

Tony snapped back to reality for a moment. Ayers was trying to make a break to Canada, probably to disappear. No one had figured out what his beef with the military was. Normally that job would have fallen on their profiler on the team, which was Natalie, but she was hopefully enjoying the last few hours with her parents before she had to bring them back to the airport. He sighed and resisted the urge to call her, focusing on what was happening around him.

U.S Marshalls lined the border, along with the Canadian Mounted Police Force. Red and blue lights were flashing, radios were going, choppers were flying overhead as they searched for their suspect before he crossed into Canada. At least their friends in the Great White North had been willing to help them. After all, they didn't want a man that was accused of bombing a military chopper in their country.

Tony had resigned to the fact that the team was going to be staying in Vermont for the night, when a black SUV barreled into the scene. He watched as four men, dressed in suits and trench coats, climbed out. "Uh-oh," he whispered, breath puffing into smoke in the cold air, "This isn't going to be good, McGee."

McGee looked up from his phone. He had been texting with his sister, apologizing for not making it to her Thanksgiving dessert, and seeing the men, frowned. "Feds. What agency do you think? FBI? CIA?"

"Homeland Security," one of the men answered, stepping up to them. "Which one of you is Special Agent Gibbs?"

"He's over there," Tony said, gesturing towards Gibbs. "Why is Homeland Security here?"

"Director Morrow has requested that NCIS hand this case over to us. This is matter of national security, and your suspect is not military," the lead agent replied.

"Ah, so you let us do all the dirty work then," Tony snapped.

Glaring at Tony, the agents walked away to go and talk to Gibbs. Tony knew it wasn't going to be pretty and usually he loved to stick around for stuff like that, but this time he was tired. He missed Natalie and he hated that he missed spending time with her parents while they were visiting. _She's probably halfway back to Boston right now..._

McGee was stunned when Tony turned and walked away, heading back towards their snow covered Charger. "Tony?"

Tony waved him off. "No use standing around in the cold. Let's go warm the car up!"

"But... we don't know if we're leaving yet!" McGee shouted after him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Gibbs.

"We're leaving," Gibbs whispered. "Let's go. Tony's right—no sense standing around in the cold. Ducky's expecting all of us at dinner tomorrow. And we have a long ride."

* * *

It was three in the morning on Saturday when Tony finally made it back to his apartment. He was half expecting to find the place completely empty...Natalie gone, on her way to Boston...

No sooner had the door clicked shut than did a light flip on and there was Natalie, sitting on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, looking at him. "Where the hell have you been!" she shouted. "What happened to rule three? NO ONE would answer my calls! It's been almost forty-eight hours since I've heard from you!"

Tony smiled at her, exhausted. "You stayed."

Natalie was confused. "Of course I stayed. Where else was I going to go?"

"Home."

"I did go home to feed Luna but then I came back here, looking for you after I dropped my parents off at the airport."

Tony shook his head. "No, I meant home to Boston. I really thought for a while there you were going to leave. The injury, and the way Gibbs was treating you today—actually, it was two days ago—I figured I was coming home to an empty apartment and a note." _Like Jeanne._

Natalie's eyes immediately softened. She forgot all about how angry she had been because the team had ignored her phone calls. "You thought I was going to leave? Tony, I had no intention of leaving. Injury aside—this has been the best place for me. You worked in a big city department, with old school detectives—you know how they treat women. You might not have liked it, but you know. I was never going to be their equal, with all their sexual slurs and demeaning nicknames. When I joined NCIS, you, Gibbs, and McGee treated me like I was just one of you; you valued my work and my work ethic. I was more than a sex object to you."

He laughed, softly. "You ended up sleeping with your partner."

She glared at him. "I ended up sleeping with my partner because I fell in love with that partner."

"Those old school detectives would highly frown upon that."

"I really don't care what they would think."

Tony dropped his bag. He moved towards the wooden box where he kept his gun and put it away. Slipping out of his coat, he hung it up in the closet, and then went to pull her into his arms. "I'm glad you stayed."

Natalie snuggled into his embrace, careful not to put too much pressure on her restricted arm. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "I'm happy that I stayed too. Did you end up finding the bomber?"

He rubbed her back as the tension from the case started to take over his body. "We tracked him to the Canadian border—where Homeland Security decisively came in and told us to back off."

She peered up at him. "Gibbs just let the suspect go?"

"Oh, it wasn't a pretty sight... but we were left with little choice. By the time we made it back from Vermont, Homeland had the bomber in custody."

"And that's good... right?"

Tony pulled away from her and shrugged his shoulders. "I would have loved to have seen Gibbs break the guy. However, he's going to spend the rest of his life in a federal prison for killing four Marines. You win some and you lose some."

Natalie watched as he lowered his tall frame onto the black leather sofa. This certainly had not been an easy case for them. The timing of the bombing happening at Thanksgiving only made matters worse. "My parents were sorry that you couldn't have dinner with us. I think they really liked you."

He tossed her an easy smile. "The charm runs in the family."

She laughed and went to sit with him. "I think you are way more charming than your father—and you're not a violent, mean, alcoholic."

"I do need a stiff drink and a nap with my girl right now."

"What would you like first? The stiff drink or the nap?"

Tony wrapped her into his arms and laid them down on the sofa. He found the blanket and cocooned themselves in it. He kissed her cheek. "The nap, and then in the morning I can make us a mimosa before we head over to Ducky's for dinner."

Natalie closed her eyes and smiled. "That sounds like a perfect plan to me, but remember my drink has to be a virgin because of the painkillers."

"You've been taking them?"

"I was afraid if I didn't that Gibbs was going to show up here and shove them down my throat."

"There's always that possibility."

"Sounds like it's been done to you before."

Tony grinned. "I plead the fifth on that."

Natalie shifted, slightly, and kissed him, softly. "If I promise to take my painkillers, can I leave the sling at home? It really takes away from the dress I want to wear."

"You need to wear the sling, Nat. I'm not taking you back to the emergency room."

"Damnit, it was worth a try at least."

He kicked off his shoes, heard them fall onto the floor with a loud thud, and closed his eyes. Sighing, he held her closer and tighter to him. She hadn't left him. She was still here and still wanted to be with him. All of his fears, apparently, were silly. Natalie loved him. Why would she leave him? Content with this thought and her in his arms, Tony drifted off to sleep with her.

* * *

Natalie was right—the sling did take something away from the dress she was wearing. However, Tony preferred the sling to a trip to the ER. Despite the black sling standing out against the soft blue dress, she looked beautiful. No one would suspect that this elegantly dressed woman was in fact a combat trained federal agent. Tony stepped closer to her, letting the scent of her perfume fill his nostrils. "You look breathtaking, Natalie. Sling and all."

Pushing her long, wavy hair off of her shoulder, Natalie turned to smile at him. "You're only saying that because I'm unhappy that I have to wear it."

Tony shook his head. "No, I'm not. You really do look amazing."

"I remembered you saying that you liked me in baby blue."

"I do. It brings out your eyes."

She smiled coyly at him. "Flattery will get you nowhere until I get my stitches out in a week."

He returned the coy grin. "I'll keep that in mind," Tony said as he gently took her into his arms and kissed her, passionately.

Natalie melted against him, wishing that they did not have to be at Ducky's in an hour. Pulling away from the kiss, she sighed. "I hope this week goes by quickly."

Tony chuckled. "I hope that it goes by quickly too."

In the living room the buzzer sounded, alerting them that someone wanted to come inside. "Must be, Tim," Tony told her as he swiftly moved through the apartment. He hit te button on the panel to unlock the door. "I offered that we drive together."

"Is everything okay with Tim?" Natalie asked. "He was so quiet when we were working in the bullpen together on Thursday. Usually he chats with me."

"Everything seemed okay to me," Tony replied. "Maybe he's feeling lonely since we haven't offered to go out with him in a while."

"Maybe we should find him a girl."

"I've seen that look before. You already have a girl in mind. Who is she?"

Natalie just grinned at him, coyly, refusing to give him an answer. Someone knocked on the door and ended what little chance Tony had of finding out what she had in mind.

Tony scoffed at her and went to get the door. Tim was standing there looking dapper in a purple button down shirt gray suit pants and a black leather jacket. "Hey, McGee. I'd stay out in the hallway if I were you—Natalie is planning your next blind date."

Tim went pale. "Not again," he cried. "The last time she tried to set me up with someone I had to change my phone number."

"Hey!" Natalie snapped. "How was I supposed to know she would go all psycho possessive on you? She seemed like a nice girl when we met in Yoga class."

"I don't know... maybe if you had run a background check," Tim threw back.

"Now, boys and girls, it's Thanksgiving," Tony reminded them with a smile. "Sort of. And we shouldn't be fighting on a day where we're supposed to be thankful for the people and things in our lives."

Tim glanced at Natalie. "Please no more blind dates," he begged her. "I know you've got the best of intentions but I'd rather just find my own girlfriend, thank you."

Natalie put her one good hand on her hip. "When was the last time you went on a date?" she asked him, honestly. It was clear that she wasn't going to let this go. "Two months? Three?"

"Four," Tim replied.

"Four!" Tony gasped. "Oh, McGee. I hate to break it to you but Natalie's right—we need to find you a girl."

"Tony, I'm not like you. I don't immediately go on the next date after I've dumped the last one."

"Ah, I'd rethink that because it appears that I'm the one in the long term, committed relationship right now."

"Will you two drop this conversation if I agree to go on this blind date?" Tim inquired, desperately.

"Yes!" Natalie and Tony exclaimed in unison.

Tim sighed, heavily. He would probably have to endure their matchmaking until he did find a girlfriend. Perhaps the girl he did find would be worth all these terrible dates that his partners set him up on. "Can we go to Ducky's now?"

Tony grabbed his keys, helped Natalie into her jacket and nodded. "Of course. And on the way, I think I'd like to hear more about this date that Nat's already set up for you, apparently."

Natalie genuinely smiled at him, "I think you're going to love her, Tim! She's smart, pretty, and funny. She went to Princeton. I forget who she works for but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you go on this date and have a great time!" She looked around and realized that she forgot her purse in the bedroom.

Once she had disappeared from the living room, Tim turned towards Tony. "I didn't mean to make fun of you—obviously you really wanted something more than one night stands."

"Tim, don't worry about it," Tony said with a wave of his hand. He grabbed a bottle of wine to bring with them. "You'll find a girl."

"Do you think it could be the one that Natalie's setting me up with?" Tim asked.

"Sure. Why not? Stranger things have happened right? Look at me and Natalie."

"You and Natalie are not strange—you're perfect together."

Tony watched as Natalie came back into the living room, this time with her purse in hand. She was perfect for him and he was insanely happy that she had inadvertently stumbled into their lives a year and a half ago.


	17. Nightmares

**A/N:** Happy Tuesday! I know this story is kind of on pause mood, promise, more exciting stuff is coming :)

 **amaia** - _I love romantic Tony :)_

* * *

Several days after Thanksgiving, Tony woke up to hear sniffling coming from his bathroom. Rolling over, he discovered that Natalie was not in bed with him. Concerned, Tony climbed out of bed, threw on a pair of sweat pants, and carefully proceeded to the bathroom. He didn't want to startle her. "Nat?" he questioned, softly, as he pushed the door open. He shielded his eyes from the bright light, "Are you okay?"

Natalie was sitting on top of the toilet seat cover, hugging her knees up to her chest. When she looked at him, Tony could immediately tell she had been crying. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was red. "It happened."

Tony was confused. "What happened?"

"I had that dream... Saleem killed you."

"Natalie, why didn't you wake me up? You didn't have to come in here and hide."

She dropped her knees, her legs falling clumsily along the toilet, and she wept. "I didn't want you to think I was losing it again!"

He slowly approached her, kneeling down onto the cold, tile floor. Reaching out he pushed her hair back and kissed her tears away. "Darling, it's alright. I do not think you're losing it, Natalie. And I don't want you to feel like you have to run and hide in the bathroom after having a nightmare. How often are you having them?"

Natalie started to calm down and her shoulders relaxed. Since she had gotten her stitches taken out, and didn't need to wear the sling anymore, the nightmares had been coming in frequent intervals. "They come and go. Sometimes I'm here with you and other nights I'm home alone in my apartment."

Tony hated the thought of her waking up from a nightmare alone. Gently he pulled her into his arms, scooping her off the toilet and carrying her into the bedroom. He laid her down in the bed and climbed back in. He situated her in his arms and kissed her temple. "Promise me, beautiful, that you'll wake me up the next time. You know that you don't have to face this alone."

"I just want them to stop," she whimpered, burying her face into his chest. "Why do they keep happening?"

"I wish I knew, Natalie," he confessed. He hugged her a bit tighter. "But you're safe with me. Always."

She wrapped her arms around his waist. Since being shot she had spent most of her time at his apartment, only going home to take care of Luna. The cat was starting to get annoyed, however, that she wasn't home. Gently, she left some feather like kisses on his chest, grateful that he was there, holding her and giving her that sense of security that she so desperately needed at the moment.

He growled, low in his throat and his body immediately began to respond to her gentle caresses. "Natalie... it's two in the morning. I know you're still on medical leave, but I need to get up for work in three hours..."

Natalie smiled at him, sweetly. She continued to kiss him across his chest and collarbone. "So? That's never stopped us before."

Tony chuckled, running his fingers along her shoulder blades. "True. My neighbors are going to start to complain about the noise."

"You'll just have to keep it down."

"Me? I recall that you were rather loud this evening in the living room."

"Anthony."

"Natalie."

Rising up onto her elbows, she pushed her hair out of her face and then pressed her lips to his, eagerly. "Shut up and make love to me."

Tony grinned and locked eyes with her. Grasping her tightly into his arms he rolled her over onto her back and happily obeyed her command.

* * *

McGee was seated at his desk when he heard whistling. Glancing up he watched as Tony stepped off the elevator, coffee cup in hand, whistling and humming a tune. He rolled his eyes. Even though everyone in the building knew that Tony and Natalie were a couple—Tony still felt the need to act jovial the morning after having sex. "Morning," McGee greeted, half-heartedly. "Sleep well?"

Tony grinned and took his sunglasses off. He put his backpack down by his desk. "Yes, I slept very well last night, Timmy. You know, we have to be fully charged and ready to go incase we get the bat signal."

"Gibbs has been up in the Director's office all morning. Bat signal could be coming soon," McGee replied.

"Good thing I wore my comfortable shoes today," Tony quipped putting his gun and badge in his top drawer.

"We need Natalie back."

"She'll be back next week."

McGee glanced at her empty desk. It had been quiet around NCIS since Natalie had been shot. Tony hadn't handled her injury well and Gibbs had forced Tony to take a few days off himself after Natalie had been released from the hospital. "Good... that's good."

Tony smirked in his partner's direction. He booted up his computer and sauntered over to McGee's desk. "Do you want to talk to her about how well your date went the other night? Let her know that this time she might have gotten it right?"

"How did you know about my date?" McGee asked, exasperated.

"Probie, I'm a trained investigator," Tony responded. "I have my methods. Plus... she called Natalie to chat the day after."

"Women. Why do they feel the need to compare notes on their dates?"

"For your sake, you better hope they haven't compared notes. You're going up against me."

"Excuse me, I know how to take a woman out on a date. I'm sure I did fine."

"Okay, glad you feel that way. But just so you know—my first date with Natalie was in Paris."

McGee swallowed and his eyes went wide. "Paris? Well, how the hell am I going to compete with that?"

Tony shrugged and went back to his desk. "Sounded like the conversation went well. I wouldn't worry about it, McGee."

He shook his head and turned his chair towards the senior field agent. Tim never really saw himself in competition with Tony when it came to women, they had different tastes after all, but he didn't want to be compared to Tony when it came to dating. "Now that you said Paris, all I can do is worry about it. Listen, I feel pretty confident when it comes to women but if the girl I'm dating is going to chat with the girl you're dating... I'm in trouble!"

Sipping his coffee, Tony felt bad that he had even brought it up. He really didn't think that McGee would mind so much that the young woman had called Natalie the day after the date. "Tim. This is Natalie we're talking about here. She isn't going to throw you under the bus. She'll talk you up, promise."

"Enough talking," Gibbs said, interrupting them. "Let's go. We're needed at Little Creek."

"Little Creek," Tony mused. "We haven't been there in a while."

"Apparently some kids thought it would be funny to take their Navy father's car on a joy ride," Gibbs replied, heading for the elevator.

"We're investigating kids on joy rides now?" Tony inquired.

Gibbs sighed. "Yeah, when they end up running over a woman and killing her."

Tony winced and glanced at McGee. "That would warrant a criminal investigation."

McGee agreed with him. "I'll say."

"So, this is a pretty open and shut case then, right boss?"

"DiNozzo, none of our cases are open and shut."

"Well, I mean, the kids were driving the car..."

"Yeah. No one will confess to _who_ was driving the car. They're all protecting one another. Our job is to break them."

Tony winced again as they stepped into the elevator. "Kids? Vance wants us to break kids?"

Gibbs glared at him. "One of those kids was behind the wheel of a car that killed a mother of two."

As the cab descended, Tony muttered something about how Natalie had picked the right week to stay home. McGee noticed that the whistling and humming was gone too.

* * *

"Ah, Anthony, you look a bit run down," Ducky observed later in the day when Tony showed up down in autopsy looking for a break.

"I just spent the last five hours interrogating a bunch of teenagers," Tony said, dropping his tired body down onto an empty table. "Whose lives, by the way, are pretty much over because they'll be going to jail for negligent homicide, theft, and a slew of other charges."

Ducky sighed as he continued to work on an autopsy for Agent Balboa's team. "Yes, tragic. Unfortunately, we end up doing some of the dumbest things when we are teenagers, Anthony. I'm sure you have a few follies in your teen years, as do I."

Tony raised his eyebrows in agreement. His follies had led him to being kicked out of several boarding schools as a teenager. It drove his father crazy but it got him the attention that he was craving from Senior. "This job is exhausting, Ducky."

"Lucky for you I don't mind when you come down to grab a nap on my table," Ducky quipped.

"True. But I mean emotionally exhausting," Tony pointed out. "Some days, I wonder how I would cope without Natalie."

"I believe that she feels the same way about you."

"I'm worried about her. She's having nightmares again."

Ducky paused in his work. "Only natural, Anthony. She suffered a traumatic experience and is recovering from a serious injury. Once she is back to work and settles into a more normal routine I'm sure she will be fine."

Tony sat up and looked at Ducky, seriously, concern clearly etched into his features. "She isn't telling me about them. I found her crying in the bathroom this morning. She isn't alone, Ducky, so why does she think she has to face those demons alone?"

"We never want the people we love to think the worst of us, Anthony," Ducky said. "She doesn't want to appear weak to you."

"She's one of the strongest people I know," Tony argued.

"Have you talked to her about this, Anthony?"

"Sort of. She has very convincing ways to avoid the subject."

Ducky chuckled and went back to work. "Yes, I heard that you were whistling this morning."

Tony grinned. "Like I said, she has very convincing ways."

"I think, Anthony, that before she starts using her methods of persuasion on you—you need to have the conversation with her," Ducky suggested.

"I know," Tony sighed, getting off the table. He headed back towards the door, "Thanks, Ducky for the chat. I know what I need to do now—even if it isn't easy."

* * *

Luna was glaring at him when Tony unlocked the door to Natalie's apartment and stepped inside. He smiled, sheepishly, at the cat. "Hey, Luna. Are you angry at me that I've hogged all of your mommy's time?" The cat jumped down from the counter and proceeded to ignore him. "I'll take that as a _yes,_ " Tony said, closing the door behind him.

Natalie appeared in the living room, her hair damp from a shower, and wearing one of his tee-shirts and yoga pants. "Hi," she said with a sweet smile. "You look beat. Was it a rough day?"

Tony took his coat off and hung it up in her closet. "Yeah, teen boys decided it would be funny to steal their father's expensive car and take it out for spin. They ended up killing a mother of two children putting the trash out for the night."

"Ouch. You should have gone home to your own apartment, Tony," Natalie chided him. "You sleep better in your bed; it's larger."

"I don't want you to be alone if you have a nightmare tonight," he said, gently.

"Tony, you can't protect me from my subconscious," she said, her voice taut.

He moved closer to her and rested his hands on her waist. "You're right, I can't," Tony said, his eyes locking with hers. "But I can be here for you if you need someone to chase the demons away, someone to talk to about them—so you know that it is in your subconscious and not real."

She brushed her fingers along his powder blue dress shirt. "I think it's sweet that you want to protect me even from things that you can't. But I don't want you to run yourself into the ground to make sure I'm okay."

Tony kissed her, pulling her tightly against him. "Natalie, you're not running me into the ground. And I'll sleep fine here tonight as long as you're sleeping next to me. Stop trying to push me out that door because it isn't going to happen."

Natalie smiled and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest. Even though she knew that he didn't sleep well in her smaller bed, she was glad he was going to put his needs aside to stay with her. She had been shaken by the recent return of her nightmares. "I love you, Tony." _More than I think you know..._

"I know, darling," Tony whispered in her ear. "I know. I love you, too."

"Did Gibbs let you stop to eat today?" Natalie asked, looking up at him.

"What do you think?"

"There's some homemade macaroni and cheese in the fridge. Rosa made it."

Tony kissed her and let go of her. He headed to the refrigerator to find the leftovers and when he did, popped them into the microwave. "Tim was a little nervous that you chatted with his date the other day."

Natalie plopped down onto the sofa and put the Capitals game on. "Why? I only said good things about him."

He chuckled. "I hope you didn't mention Paris."

She eyed him, suspiciously. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him the truth—that you girls compare notes about your dates."

"We were not comparing notes, Tony. She called to say that it went well and that maybe the four us should go out on a double date."

Tony raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I think I'd like to see McRomeo on a date."

Natalie glared at him, playfully. "I'm sure you would."

He took his leftovers to the sofa and sat down with her. Leaning over, Tony kissed her cheek. "I promise I'll behave on that double date."

She still wasn't sure if she could believe him entirely. Natalie decided to let it go, and snuggled against his shoulder to watch the game. "Tony."

"Yeah," he said, between mouthfuls of Rosa's macaroni and cheese.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling softly, "for staying with me."

Tony kissed the tip of her nose and returned the smile. "I'll always stay with you, Natalie."

Natalie sighed and fell asleep; possibly falling into the deepest slumber she had since being shot. Tony watched her fall asleep and realized that even the strongest person needed a safety net, someone to fall back on when things got rough and it was fine by him that Natalie used him to fall back on.


	18. Bad Call

**Warnings:** Mentions of rape, child abuse, lots of angst

 **A/N:** Hi everyone! This chapter is heavy on the angst side. Fills the space where "False Witness" would have been, I wasn't a huge fan of that episode, so decided to write my own. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"I found this in your closet," Natalie said, holding up a Christmas tree stand. "We should walk down to the corner where the Scouts are selling trees and buy one."

"And do what with it?" Tony asked, quietly. He wasn't about to tell her that he wasn't a fan of Christmas.

"Decorate it, silly!"

"I don't have any decorations."

Natalie titled her head to the side and reached into the closet, yanking out a Rubbermaid container. "Oh, really? What's all this then?" she inquired, popping the lid and revealing a full set of decorations.

Tony frowned at them, recalling when those had been purchased. He had been engaged to Wendy at the time. Shaking the memories away, Tony shrugged his shoulders, and turned away from her, poking at the fire. "We don't spend a lot of time here to enjoy those decorations. I really don't want or need a Christmas tree."

She eyed him cautiously. For the last couple of weeks he had been rather stoic, as Tim would say, and especially so since she had returned to active field duty. His serious, almost too professional demeanor at work was really starting to freak McGee out. "Tony, is something bothering you?"

He sighed and shook his head. Forcing a smile on his face, Tony went to her and kissed her cheek. "Tell you what, tomorrow night we can go buy a tree and have Abby over to help decorate it. She loves Christmas." Grabbing her hand he pulled her towards the pillows and blankets he had laid out in front of the fireplace. "Tonight, however, is about us and only us. Gibbs worked us to the bone this week, we deserve a nice quiet evening."

"Yes, I wasn't expecting to be involved in a stakeout all week," Natalie said, snuggling into his arms.

"But you got to spend quality time with McGeek," Tony said, grinning, "chatting about his new girlfriend."

"Stop it. You promised you wouldn't tease him about her."

"Fine. But, just so you know, there's no fun in that."

Grinning at him, she pressed her lips to his, tenderly. "I promise to make it up to you."

Kissing her temple, Tony pulled her closer to him. "Think I like these kind of Friday nights."

Natalie smiled and turned her face towards him. "As opposed too..."

"Going out and getting drunk and laid."

"You can still get the drunk and laid part at home now."

Tony laughed and kissed her. He was so thankful that they had the weekend off. After a week's worth of staying up late and staking out a suspect's house, Tony was exhausted. Truth be told, the team didn't often get Friday nights off. Gibbs had taken pity on them this particularly Friday night.

Natalie pulled away from their kiss and let her fingers brush his cheek. She liked these kinds of Friday nights too, knowing that she was with someone that loved her and made her feel safe, and not going out to find a meaningless fling that might have only lasted a few weeks. She pulled him towards her again, kissing him deeply and she was more than willing to let him make love to her right there in front of the fire...

On the coffee table Tony's phone vibrated and the screen lit up, showing a photograph of who was calling. Seeing the caller ID, Tony sighed heavily and reached for the phone, dreading the reason for the call. "So much for a weekend off," he mumbled before answering. "Hey boss."

It became silent in the apartment, only the sound of the crackling fire, but when Natalie saw the look on Tony's face she knew that this was a bad call—a very bad call. "I guess a quiet evening at home is going to have to wait."

* * *

Wet snow pelted the windshield of his car, the wipers furiously working to keep the glass clear. Tony sat rigid, muscles taut, in the driver's seat. His jaw was so tightly clenched that his partner was certain it was going to snap in two. He looked years and years older the way the headlights were flashing across his face as they drove towards their destination. From the moment he had hung up the phone after Gibbs' called Tony's posture had been pretty much the same.

Their evening of a nice, quiet dinner at home, with some much needed alone time spent in front of a warm fire, had been tossed out the window. There wasn't even time to change. Natalie was still wearing her leggings and Boston College hoodie, and a pair of old, beat up sneakers. And both of them smelled like Chinese food.

Tony turned the car off the main road and they were driving along next to Garrison homes and well manicured lawns that probably were the brightest of greens in the summer months. The lights in the homes all looked blurred because of the steady falling snow assaulting their vehicle. It seemed hard to believe that such a horrific crime had happened in this neighborhood...

At the end of the street a yard was flooded with emergency vehicles, the red and blue flashing lights bouncing off of the wet, icy pavement, dousing the street in a weird red and blue glow. Tony parked his car behind the NCIS van and shut it down. He gripped the steering wheel for a second before opening the door and stepping out into the snow, pulling his hood of his Ohio State sweatshirt over his head.

Natalie followed him, covering her locks of brown hair with her own hood. Both agents flashed their credentials at the cop standing guard by the crime scene tape. The patrol officer lifted the tape and the pair of NCIS agents stepped underneath, making their way through the inches of snow, towards the wide-open front door of the two story, white home.

In the middle of the living room was the body of Navy Captain Carlton Whitmore. Blood stained the otherwise pristine carpet around the Captain's body. There were no signs of a scuffle, suggesting that the killer had been someone that Whitmore knew.

Tony watched as their teammate, Timothy McGee, bagged a bloody butcher knife that had most likely been taken from the kitchen. His stomach turned as he pulled his hood back and found Gibbs, sitting in the dining room with a teenage girl. Ducky was inspecting the body. "McGee. What have we got?" he asked, his tone dark, voice thick with thinly veiled rage.

"Captain Whitmore was sexually abusing his sixteen year old stepdaughter. Their girl's biological father died when she was eight. Her mother remarried when she was ten. We're not sure when the abuse began _,"_ McGee reported, softly. "Apparently he raped her a lot when her mother is away on business, like she is this week... Mia took the knife and stabbed him in the abdomen eight times."

"She didn't know how to get it to stop," Natalie surmised, looking into the dining room at the girl one more time, this time clearly seeing the blood covering her clothing. If the abuse had been going on for months while her mother was away, the young girl may have seen no other options. "She was desperate... battered woman's syndrome."

"Think that applies to wives, Natalie," Tony said through clenched teeth. "It does not apply to children. It's a hundred times more desperate for her because she's a minor. She has no resources to run, to get help."

Natalie balled her fists up while her partner continued to ask questions to be brought up to speed on the case. Her eyes wouldn't leave the girl's face. She knew what it had felt like to be controlled and belittled—Saleem had done a fantastic job at that in her captivity in Somalia—to be that young and go through it had to be horrifying. Someone's hand came down on her shoulder and she startled, pulling away.

Tony was looking at her with a concerned glance. If anyone knew what this case was going to do to her, it would be him. "You with me, Natalie?" he asked, softly, his green eyes searching her face for any signs that she shouldn't investigate this one. She was still suffering PTSD from their time in Somalia and rape was one of her triggers. He didn't want to force a relapse on her because she was working a tough case, and especially after her recent brush with death had started a reoccurrence of her nightmares again. "I can give you the keys to the car..."

She shook her head, saw that Ducky looked at her pensively. "No. I'm fine. I can... I can work through it."

He frowned at her, the lines in his face hardened and his was jaw tight. "If it gets to be too much..."

"Callahan," Gibbs called from the dining room. "Come here."

Tony let her go, his eyes never leaving her back while she went into the dining room and sat down at the table with Gibbs and the girl. Swallowing the angry bile in his throat, he turned back towards Ducky and McGee. "Is it awful of me that I do not feel an ounce of remorse that this bastard is dead?"

Ducky looked up at the senior field agent. "You are only human, Anthony. This... is not going to be an easy case. Especially with young children involved."

He paused his movements around the living room and looked at the Medical Examiner. "Young children? There are more kids in the house?" Tony inquired.

A sad look passed through Ducky's eyes. "Yes. Captain and Mrs. Whitmore's two children—six and three. They were witnesses to the crime."

Tony heard a little giggle, that of a little girl, and he headed in the direction of the sound. In the back of the house Natalie was with the two children, the little girl sitting in his partner's lap and the little boy standing cautiously near by, but inching closer the more Natalie played and made his little sister laugh.

Natalie was always their natural choice for dealing with children, besides Gibbs of course. Children warmed up to her rather quickly, she gained their trust with easy smiles and gentle tones and she engaged them in things that she knew entertained them. Right now she was surrounded by the little girl's baby dolls and the boy's Lego sets, alternating between playing babies with the girl and building a pirate ship with the Legos.

He stepped softly into the room but immediately his presence spooked the two children and they bolted away from Natalie, dashing into their closet and sliding the door shut. He winced and looked at her, apologetically. Tony would be the first to admit that he was not the best with kids, but he'd been getting better with her help. He should have realized that these kids were traumatized, and perhaps abused by their father since their big sister had been. "Sorry," he mumbled to Natalie.

She shook her head, telling him that it was okay. "Parker, Chloe, please come out. This is my friend—Tony—he's an agent too. I promise you he isn't going to hurt you. He wants to help you."

"These are some really cool Legos," Tony said, sitting down next to Natalie and continuing to work on the pirate ship. "Are these yours Parker?"

"Yes," the boy said, but he didn't open the door.

"Want to come out and play with me?" Tony asked in a soft voice, he smiled in the direction of the closet.

Slowly the door opened halfway and two little faces peeked out, big blue eyes watching the two federal agents carefully. "My dad never want to play with me," the little boy said, with a bit of a sniffle.

Natalie glanced sideways at Tony, saw the hurt flicker in his eyes. "Well... we'd love to play with you, Parker. Chloe too."

Tony took a deep breath as the two children came out. He noticed then that they were rather thin and their clothes were tattered and worn. In such a rich neighborhood it shouldn't be this way, he concluded. He snapped another Lego onto the ship and held a piece out to Parker.

Parker scooted closer and took the piece, his brow furrowing as he thought about where he was going to put it, then he snapped it into place. He looked at Tony for assurance and when the federal agent gave him a small smile his shoulders became less tense.

Little by little Tony was able to earn the boy's trust just by simply playing Legos with him and letting the boy decide how the ship was going to be built. Something told the federal agent that this child didn't have a lot say in his young life, always looking for approval from his dad— _sound familiar, DiNozzo?_

"Hey," Gibbs said, poking his head into the room. "We're all cleaned up out here. Let's go."

"Where... where are we going, Agent Tony?" Parker asked, looking at the man with wide, scared eyes.

"Back to NCIS. Don't worry Parker, I'll be there as well as Agent Natalie and Chloe," Tony promised him.

Parker didn't look convinced. He glanced up at Gibbs standing there, with Natalie next to him, then at his little sister sleeping in Natalie's arms. "What about Mia? Where's my big sister going to be?"

Tony reached out and gently rubbed the boy's back. "Mia's going to be there too, okay?"

"Is it... is it safe there Agent Tony?"

"Yeah, it's safe, Parker."

Parker still hesitated, until Tony opened his arms and the boy crawled to him, snuggling there. Tony picked him off the floor and rubbing his back, carried the child out of the house—out of the horror story these three children had apparently been living.

* * *

Natalie had set up a place for the children to play and sleep in the bullpen. She was going to do it in the Conference room but Parker refused to leave Tony. Instead of frightening the boy even more the team had given in and allowed the children to stay with them. Both Parker and Chloe had fallen asleep an hour ago. Tim had taken their older sister to the hospital to be examined and Tony wasn't sure where Gibbs had disappeared to if he was honest.

Tony watched as Natalie tucked a blanket around the two kids, smiling at her. She looked so natural doing it that he could picture her with her own children someday. "I know we've talked about this before... but I want to ask again. Do you ever think about kids?" he asked, quietly.

"What do you mean?" Natalie asked back, standing up.

"Do you ever think about having your own kids?"

"Oh, I... I don't know... we've talked about how the job isn't exactly conducive to child rearing."

He stood up and moved towards her and then sat down on the edge of his desk. "I think you'd make a great mom, Nat."

She chewed on her lower lip for a second. "Do you still think about us...having kids?"

Tony reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling her towards him. "I think... you've taught me that anything is possible, Natalie."

Natalie smiled at him and gave his hands a squeeze. "Some day then..."

"Hey!" Gibbs snapped, reaching out and lightly smacking Tony on the back of his head. "Did you find any relatives that can come and get the kids?"

"Ah, no boss," Tony said, letting of his partner's hands and standing up. "Laurel Whitmore was an only child and her parents died several years ago."

"What about the father?"

"Couple of sisters that live in Iowa. They haven't returned our calls."

Natalie looked at the sleeping children. "We get the impression that Captain Whitmore was estranged from his family. I just received his file... I haven't had a chance to look over it yet been busy trying to get Parker and Chloe to sleep."

Gibbs sighed and looked at the sleeping kids. With no relatives near by to take them their care had fallen directly in the laps of his team. "Study it at home," he said, looking back at Natalie. "Parker and Chloe should have a bed to sleep in, not the floor of a squad room."

Tony eyed the team leader cautiously. "They're witnesses to a crime, boss. Sure you want them leaving the building?"

"Parker's gotten really attached to Tony," Natalie added.

"Then take Dinohzzo with you," Gibbs said with a wave of his hand. "McGee and I can handle this." _Not that there is much to handle._

Natalie looked at Tony. His face was a bit pale. "Um... what about Mia? "

Gibbs gave her a bit of a glare. "Mia is staying here. She's a suspect in a murder investigation no matter how justified we all think it is."

* * *

Little voices chatting away woke Tony up the next morning. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand he realized he had slept later then he had intended. Judging from the lack of texts and voicemails on his cellphone, Gibbs wasn't looking for him.

Tony sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. The air mattress that Natalie had set up for the children to sleep on was empty, the blankets kicked back. He was surprised that he didn't hear any of them get up that morning. Maybe his hearing was starting to go...

"Do you think Agent Tony will let me put the star on top?" Parker's voice carried into the bedroom from the living room.

 _Star? What star?_ Tony thought, trying to put the pieces together and then he knew. Flying out of the bedroom he found Natalie with the two kids decorating a Christmas tree and in Parker's hand was a star tree topper—his mother's tree topper. Where the hell had Natalie found that? _That_ was tucked away in a box of things that were never meant to see the light of day ever again. "What are you doing?" He bellowed, scaring the two children.

Parker dropped the star on the carpet and glanced anxiously at Natalie. "We... we were decorating your Christmas tree. I... I was going to put the star on top."

Tony snatched the star off of the rug. "Well, it's not for you to touch."

"I... I'm sorry! I... I didn't know!"

"Anthony, he just wanted to help."

"Help? Where did you get this?" Tony snapped, moving towards the closet to find the box of his most personal items.

Natalie wasn't sure what was going on here. It was just a tree topper. "In the back of your closet. It was just in a box. I noticed that the decorations you had didn't have a tree topper, so I went looking for one. The kids and I decided to brighten your place up with a Christmas tree."

Tony carefully wrapped up the star and put it back in the box. He knew what had happened to the one Wendy had bought. It had been used as a projectile at him during one of their many arguments after they had moved to D.C. "Yeah, well, some things are meant to be kept in boxes."

"But what are we going to put on the top of the tree?" Parker asked, innocently.

"Not this star!" Tony snapped. He slammed the closet door shut and stormed into the kitchen.

Parker looked crestfallen. Natalie rubbed his back and told him that he could keep putting the ornaments on the tree; she followed Tony into the kitchen. He was standing near the coffee pot, rubbing the bridge of his nose while he waited for it to brew. "That was pretty crappy of you," she accused him. "Those kids have been through hell. I thought t would be nice to decorate the tree; do something normal for them while they wait for their family to come pick them up."

Tony turned and glared at her. "So, you go through my personal things, let strange kids touch them, and think this is my fault? I told you I didn't really want a tree! I told you when we started dating that this place was my haven and it was extremely difficult to let you in!"

Natalie clenched her fists. She didn't want to have a full blown out fight with Parker and Chloe in the next room. "It's just a tree topper, Tony. You're acting like someone died!"

"It isn't just a tree topper!" Tony shouted, rounding his shoulders on her. "It was my mother's!"

"Your mother's?" Natalie repeated, shocked. He never talked about his mother. It was a subject that they never broached.

Tony furiously unplugged the coffee maker and went to put on some shoes. He grabbed his jacket, keys, and flew out of the apartment.


	19. Painful Past

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Happy Monday morning readers! Here is the next part! Enjoy :)

* * *

Laurel Whitmore seemed more concerned about her house than her kids or even her dead husband. According to her she had been heading towards a divorce with Carlton anyways and had always suspected that her daughter was fooling around with her husband.

McGee watched as Gibbs' face clouded over in anger with that statement from the woman over the video feed in MTAC. Mrs. Whitmore hadn't even bothered to book a flight home from England to be with her kids and wasn't that concerned that the federal agents were basically baby-sitting them for her.

"Your sixteen year old daughter was being raped by your husband," Gibbs pointed out, harshly. "She then took a butcher knife to him when he wouldn't stop. Parker and Chloe witnessed the whole thing."

"Parker likes to make up stories," Mrs. Whitmore said with a shrug. "His teachers tell me it is his way of getting attention. Most of them are not real, Special Agent Gibbs. If Mia killed Carlton it was not because he was raping her and I don't think you'll be speaking to her anymore, Agent Gibbs. I've called my lawyer. He is coming to NCIS to sit with her."

Gibbs clenched his fists. "NCIS isn't charging your daughter with a crime, Mrs. Whitmore. She doesn't need a lawyer. What she needs is a place to stay. Christmas Eve is tomorrow; my agents will not be here to watch the kids and Social Services will be closed down for the holiday. Is there anyone in the area that would be willing to take them for a few days until you get home?"

McGee scowled. He wished they didn't have to give the children to their mother at all, but there were no signs that Laurel was abusive, just absent. Their search for a family member had yielded little results. Captain Whitmore's family didn't seem the least bit interested in taking the kids and his mother had gone as far to say that she wasn't surprised that he had been caught having sex with a minor.

Mrs. Whitmore frowned at the screen. "Agent Gibbs, I am across the ocean, at a very important conference. I do not have time to find a family member to come pick my kids up, two days before Christmas and bring them home. I will be home tomorrow evening. I can come get Parker and Chloe then."

"And Mia?" Gibbs questioned. "What about her?"

"Mia is more trouble than she's worth," Mrs. Whitmore explained. "I'd rather have her in a group home than around Parker and Chloe. Can't NCIS arrange that?"

"No!" Gibbs snapped. "Mia hasn't broken the law! Our investigation proved that the murder of your husband was justified. She should go home with you and get counseling!"

Mrs. Whitmore didn't look convinced but relented. "Fine. I will pick all three of them up at NCIS tomorrow night. Now, I have to go, Agent Gibbs, I have a meeting."

McGee watched as the feed was cut. He could tell that Gibbs was seething. The lead agent had a soft spot for kids and he especially hated when their parents mistreated those kids. "Why have kids if you're not going to take care of them?" the younger man asked, tightly.

Gibbs snarled and muttered something underneath his breath. "Call Callahan, tell her that she's on baby-sitting duty until tomorrow night. I'm not going to send those kids to a group home for an evening just because their mother doesn't think they're important enough to come home for."

"Tony will be thrilled. You know how much he loves kids."

"He's got Natalie with him. He'll be fine."

McGee's cell phone buzzed at that moment. He pulled it out of his pocket and realized that Natalie was calling him. "Hey, I was just about to call you," he told his partner, "It looks like you're going to be in charge of Parker and Chloe until tomorrow."

Natalie didn't acknowledge what he had just said. " _Can you trace Tony's phone? He isn't answering my calls and he stormed out of here about twenty-five minutes ago. I thought he'd take a walk around the block and come back with a cooler head... that hasn't happened yet."_

"Why did he storm out?"

" _He was angry that Parker had his mother's Christmas tree topper."_

"Oh no, no, no, Natalie! You didn't go into _the box_ did you?"

" _What is so forbidden about this box? It's not even labeled. It's just a cardboard box!"_

McGee pinched the bridge of his nose. "Those are items from Tony's childhood and you know that he hates to talk about his childhood. He hates to bring those items out and even look at them. He doesn't even keep the box in sight in the closet, you have to dig around for it!"

Natalie was silent for a second. " _I thought... well... I thought it was pretty. And the box of Christmas decorations he had didn't have a tree topper. I... I didn't think he would mind."_

 _This is bad; this is very bad,_ McGee thought. He remembered when he had come across something in that box. He had been a probie still and Tony had been home on medical leave after having the Plague. He had been looking for something in the closet when he stumbled across the box. Tony had nearly had a heart attack and screamed at him. _Well, as best he could given the circumstances of being home sick,_ McGee recalled with a shake of his head. "He doesn't broadcast it for everyone. He seems to think if he does we'll all go looking for it."

She sounded devastated on the phone. " _You need to track his phone, Tim. I'm worried about him. Whatever happened to his mother, Christmas, his stoic attitude the last few weeks has to be connected... somehow. He isn't going to answer my calls. Maybe he'll answer yours?"_

"I'll try," McGee promised her before hanging up. He noticed Gibbs was watching. "Natalie found the box with Tony's mom's belongings."

"See if you can find him," Gibbs said, understanding, "and make sure he's okay."

McGee glumly nodded. "Yes, boss," he whispered, turning to go. He looked back at Gibbs. "Should I talk to him?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, I'll do that. I've noticed how quiet he's been too." And since noticing, Gibbs had been just as worried as McGee and Natalie.

* * *

His feet were soaking wet and the snow was sliding down his neck, underneath his shirt. Tony was freezing but he didn't really care. All he could replay in his mind was that memory of his mother over and over again with the damn star.

Tony never talked about his mother. It was why all the items that he had that reminded him of her were buried in a box. She hadn't always been drunk and mean. He had a few memories of her being rather attentive but it wasn't until much later in his life, when he had become a cop, that he realized that his mother had suffered from mental illness. However, it was not something he wanted to talk about or relive.

"You'll catch a cold sitting out here like this," Gibbs said, suddenly sitting down on the bench with him.

"Don't care," Tony mumbled. "I see McGee traced my phone. Knew I should have taken the battery out."

"Well, you didn't answer our calls," Gibbs pointed out.

"Sorry. I needed some time alone."

"She didn't know about the box, Tony."

His breath made a cloud of mist in the cold air. Tony watched the snowflakes in their dance. "I know. I should have told her about it. It's just... it's not filled with happy memories for me, Gibbs. You know that."

He did know that. Gibbs had managed to pry some of the painful past out of Tony the first year they had worked together. The more Gibbs pulled out of Tony, however, the more Tony had shut down about his past. It was probably why the subject of Senior had never even been brought up. "She's your girlfriend. Maybe you should tell her about it. She isn't going to judge you, Tony."

Tony looked at his hands, red and raw, in his lap. "Wendy did. When she was angry at me she would tell me that I was going to turn out just like my parents."

Gibbs scowled. He never had been a fan of Wendy. "Wendy's gone now, Tony. Natalie is different."

"I completely overreacted, Gibbs. Scared the hell out of those kids."

"Talk to them, Tony. Tell them that you're sorry. Kids can be rather forgiving at times."

"Do you think Natalie will be as forgiving?"

"Once you talk to her, there probably will be nothing to forgive, Tony. She'll understand."

Tony nodded his head but still didn't move. "Did you get in touch with the kids' mother yet?"

Gibbs clenched his jaw. "We did. She isn't coming to get them until tomorrow. Captain Whitmore's family didn't answer our attempts to contact them."

"Oh... so they'll be staying at my place again?"

"If you don't mind. Natalie can take them back to hers."

"No, her place is too small and we're not sure how the cat will take to kids."

"Well then, you should probably get home and out of the cold," Gibbs suggested.

"You're probably right, boss," Tony replied, standing. He looked around at the empty park. "Um, boss... you don't mind driving me do you?"

Gibbs chuckled and stood up. He reached out and put his arm around Tony's broad shoulders and directed him towards the car.

* * *

Natalie heard the keys in the lock and startled awake. She had fallen asleep with Parker and Chloe on the sofa watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Immediately, the two children tensed against her when they saw Tony step into the apartment.

Tony looked like hell. His jacket was wet, his tee shirt underneath the open jacket was soaked through, and his hands were as red as some of the decorations on the Christmas tree. He quietly went to put his jacket in the closet and shut his apartment door behind him, locking it once again.

"McGee called," Natalie said, cautiously. "Mrs. Whitmore is going to pick the children up tomorrow afternoon. Do you mind if they stay here one more night?"

"No, I don't mind. I already talked to Gibbs," Tony said, going to stand at the top of the step leading into his living room.

Natalie wiggled out from underneath the blanket she was sharing with the two kids and went to him, taking his raw hands into her own. "Tony, you're freezing. You should go change into dry clothes and then come sit by the fire."

Tony searched her face for any signs that she was angry at him but she wasn't. "Tim told you about the box, didn't he?" The senior field agent asked, quietly.

She nodded and tears sprang to her eyes. "He did. I'm so sorry, Tony."

He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. "It's not your fault."

Someone tugged on Tony's wet shirt. Both agents looked down to see Chloe gazing up at them. "Are you angry at us, Agent Tony?" She asked, so softly that they could barely hear her over the television.

Tony let got of Natalie and picked the little girl up, carrying her to the sofa to sit down with her brother. He carefully placed Chloe onto his lap. "I'm sorry I scared you," he told the two children. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, Parker. You didn't know that the star was something very...special to me. It was my mother's and...it makes me think of her and miss her."

Parker seemed to understand what Tony was saying. "Did she go away, Agent Tony? I'm a little sad when my mom goes away. She isn't home a lot."

"My mother went away a long time ago," Tony confessed. _Maybe she even left us before she eventually died_. "She didn't come back. That's why the star is special to me. She loved that star."

"I bet she would love it if you put on the top of our tree," Parker said with a smile.

"Doesn't it look pretty, Agent Tony?" Chloe asked, sweetly.

Tony glanced at the tree, sparkling and glowing, and yes, he had to admit, it did look pretty. "Yeah, you did a great job decorating it."

Natalie could see that the children were opening Tony up to a side she had never seen before; that wounded place where his childhood resided. "Hey Parker, Chloe, why don't you come help me make some hot chocolate?"

Parker and Chloe scrambled off the sofa to go help Natalie. Tony sighed, and leaned back for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. He rose from the sofa and went to the closet and found the box with all those items in it that he kept tucked away. The star was on top, just waiting to be put on display again. Fighting tears Tony went to place it on the top of the tree. Parker was right. His mother would love to see that star on his tree. She would have hated to know that he had kept it hidden away for so many years.

Tony picked the box up and brought it into the bedroom. Once Parker and Chloe were back with their mother and home, he would sit down and go through these items with Natalie. It was time that he opened up to her about them. It was time that he stopped hiding them away.

"Hey," Natalie's voice interrupted. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tony assured her. He found some dry clothes in his dresser.

"It was sweet, what you did for them," she said. "Putting the star on the tree."

"Did they like it?" He asked, changing into the dry clothes.

"They loved it; it really made them happy."

"Good. I want them to have a somewhat happy holiday."

Natalie slipped her arms around his waist and pressed a soft kiss to his chest. "I wish you had told me about the box, Tony. I don't know why you feel like you have to hide from me. Your past made you who you are today. And I love _who_ you are."

Tony clutched her tightly into his arms, recalling all the arguments with Wendy over who he was. He probably should have known long before she left him at the altar that it was never going to work out between them. "Don't worry, once the kids are safe with their mother and home, we'll talk about the box, okay?"

"Really? You're going to share it with me?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because, I trust you Natalie."

She took a fistful of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. As their lips touched they heard some giggling coming from the door. Embarrassed, Natalie and Tony broke apart to see Parker and Chloe standing in the door watching them.

He laughed, watching as Natalie ushered the two children back into the living room to finish watching their movie and have hot cocoa. Tony glanced at the box one last time, bittersweetly, and went to join them.

* * *

Gibbs could tell that Mia wasn't handling the separation from her brother and sister well. She seemed indifferent when it came to her mother, but when it came to Parker and Chloe, she clearly was concerned about them. "Are you close to Parker and Chloe?" He asked the girl.

Mia shrugged her shoulders as she fiddled around on Natalie's computer. She had spent the night a group home for girls' getting some much needed counseling from one of the therapists there but she was back at NCIS that morning to give her final statement and to wait for her mother. "They're my little brother and sister. My mom isn't around a lot; I end up taking care of them."

"Agent Callahan reported that they were asking about you," Gibbs told her.

"Was Chloe okay?" Mia asked, glancing at him. "She has trouble sleeping in strange places."

"According to my agents they were well behaved."

"That doesn't surprise me. Carlton would have smacked them around if they misbehaved."

"Where was your mother when this was happening?" Gibbs questioned.

"My mother," Mia laughed, "was away on business. Carlton never hurt us when she was around. That's why she doesn't believe me that he was raping me."

Gibbs took a deep breath. Laurel Whitmore was more than happy to be in the dark about the abuse that was going on behind her back. Denial is what some shrinks would call it. There was no way he could force the woman to believe what had been going on. The entire family needed therapy sessions. "Your family should be here soon."

Mia continued to fiddle around with a game on Natalie's computer. She wiped the back of her hand across her nose. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble, Agent Gibbs. I just... I wanted him to stop and I didn't want him to hurt Parker or Chloe."

He shook his head. "You didn't cause that much trouble, Mia."

She smiled at him gratefully as two little voices could be heard shouting, "MIA!"

Gibbs looked on as Parker and Chloe rushed at their sister and the siblings reunited. He tipped his head towards Natalie and Tony for taking care of the younger children, and then with his arm around the eldest girl, he led the children upstairs to the conference room. "Nice job, team," he called over his shoulder. "Now, get to work on that stack of reports!"


	20. Port to Port

**Warnings:** Mentions of suicide, drunk Tony and Natalie, spoilers for Season 8...

 **A/N:** I totally blame some this chapter on the amount of caffeine I had while writing this ;) I also rewrote this about four times because I was struggling with where to take the story, trying to find filler before the next major arc and decided to just skip trying to find filler and go straight to the next arc. Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

It wasn't until New Year's Eve that Tony thought about the box with his mother's things again. He happened to come across it while getting ready for a black-tie party at a fancy bar downtown. Smoothing his tuxedo jacket, Tony leaned down and picked the box up, put it on his bed, and popped it open.

Some of the items inside he had not taken out for years. He was surprised that a cloud of dust didn't erupt from the box when he opened the lid. To anyone else the items were not that exciting or special, but to him, they reminded him of happier times with his mother. A faded movie ticket, a program from some off Broadway play she had taken him too-a take-out menu from their favorite Chinese food restaurant.

Tony picked the old movie ticket up. It was from the last movie she had taken him to see. _The Little Prince_. She had been happy and carefree that day, but it was a week later when she had locked herself away in her room never to come out again.

"What are you looking at?" Natalie questioned, breaking the silence.

"Just a bunch of old things," Tony said, turning and smiling at her.

Natalie saw the box on the bed and decided to keep a safe distance. "Are those your mom's things?"

Tony nodded as his fingers brushed against a velvet box. "Some of them were hers, others just things that reminded me of her at better times. My dad might have been a drunk, absentee father and husband, but my mother tried her best when she was feeling well to take care of me."

"She was sick?"

"Bipolar. I didn't realize that until I was much, much older and experienced interactions with mentally ill people as a rookie cop."

Smoothing her cranberry colored dress down, Natalie sat on the edge of the bed, watching as he glanced sadly at the box. "How...how did she die?"

Taking a deep breath, Tony pushed the box back and sat down. He placed the velvet box in his lap. "My dad came home one night, looking for his Scotch...my mom liked to hide it on him, it was her way to get him to stop drinking. He got angry at her, they got into a fight where he demeaned her and beat her and he stormed out. My mother locked herself in her room for days. I came home from school one day and found her in her bed...she overdosed on sleeping pills."

Natalie felt tears gathering in her eyes. "You were the one to find your mother after she committed suicide? Tony... that's...that's terrible. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want you to judge me or to worry that I was going to suffer from the same mental illness that my mother did. I didn't want you to think that I was unstable."

She took his face between her hands and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Oh Tony, I don't think you're unstable. You're one of the strongest people I know."

He looked her straight in the eye, revealing to her all the pain he had felt over the years surrounding that box and his mother. "Wendy used it against me all the time."

"Well, what did she know?" Natalie snapped, feeling an intense anger for a woman she didn't even know, a woman that she had never even seen a photograph of.

"Apparently, not me," Tony countered, looking at her, sadly. He then smiled at her, soaking in the sight of her in a strapless, cranberry chiffon dress that hugged her curves. "You look beautiful, darling."

"And you look handsome," Natalie said, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. She pulled him in for another kiss.

"I want to give you something to wear tonight," Tony said, smiling at her, sweetly.

"Tony, I'm not wearing any sexy teddy underneath this dress."

"Oh, well, as much as I would like that...it's something a bit smaller, more sophisticated."

Natalie felt something placed in her lap. Letting go of Tony, she glanced down to see the black velvet box resting on top of her thighs. "What is this?" She asked, popping open the box. Inside was an elegant strand of ivory colored pearls.

Tony took the pearls out of the box and placed them around Natalie's neck, clasping the necklace shut. "They were my mother's favorite. After she died my grandfather got them, he didn't trust my father to care for them, and he didn't want them to be pawned off. He gave them to me when I turned eighteen. Told me to give them to a special lady someday. I think he would approve of you."

Her fingers ran along the pearls. "Would your mother have approved?"

His eyes glistened with unshod tears. "Yeah...she would have approved."

"They're beautiful. I promise to take good care of them."

"I know you will. I know how much you love vintage and antique things."

Natalie smiled at him. "Vintage and antique things have more character."

Tony chuckled. "Does that apply to men too?"

She got a little teasing glint in her gray eyes. "There are some older men that I find sexy."

He grasped her hands tightly and pulled her closer to him. "So, if anyone older looks at you tonight, I should be concerned?" Tony asked her, jokingly.

"You have nothing to worry about. I find you _very_ sexy," Natalie told him. "And you gave me a very nice piece of jewelry."

"I know how to keep a woman happy," Tony said, wagging his eyebrows. He kissed her softly and then became serious. "Are you happy, Natalie?"

"Tony, do you really have to ask?"

"Yes, I do." _You know how incredibly insecure I am about relationships, Natalie._

"Yes, Tony, I'm happy. In fact, I am the happiest I have ever been, here in Washington, with you."

"You know something, I'm the happiest I have ever been here in Washington, with you as well."

Natalie leaned towards him, capturing his lips into a passionate kiss. Her hands let go of his hands and roamed up the front of his pristine, white dress shirt. She fingered the buttons but didn't undo them.

Tony slipped his hands around her tiny waist, deepening the kiss. He suddenly wished he had not planned their elegant New Year's Eve and that they were just going to stay home. He really wanted to get her out of that dress...

She pulled away ending their kiss. "We should probably go."

He sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "Okay, but tomorrow we're spending it in bed... watching movies."

"I find it hard to believe that you want to just spend tomorrow in bed watching movies."

"Okay, maybe I want to do more than just watch movies in bed tomorrow."

Natalie grinned and slide off the bed. "That sounds about right."

Tony smiled, stood up and grabbed his wallet. He helped Natalie into her jacket and kissed her cheek. "Let's go ring in the new year."

* * *

Tim heard the knocking, on banging rather, on his door very early on New Year's Day. Opening one eye he glanced at his alarm clock. _Seriously? Who's at the door at five-thirty in the morning on New Year's Day?_

Next to him his new girlfriend groaned, and pulled her pillow over her head, voicing her complaints about the early visitors. Tim stumbled out of bed, found his slippers and his robe, put them on and went to answer the door. He wasn't surprised to find Tony and Natalie behind it, smiling like little kids. "Oh my God, what are the two of you doing here?" Tim asked.

Clearly they had not gone home from their party the night before. Tony was still in his tux, minus the bow tie, and Natalie was still in a cocktail dress. Tony held up a tray of coffee and a bag with food in it. "We brought the best hangover breakfast that the city of D.C has to offer," he said.

"Are you two still drunk?" Tim questioned, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Mildly buzzed," Tony replied. "It was open bar at the party."

"We stayed until they kicked us out at four and then went to the diner for coffee," Natalie said, smiling.

Tony shook the bag of food. "That's why we have this! We figured that we weren't the only couple needing some hangover food."

Tim was exasperated. He had not felt like this since Tony and Kate had showed up at his apartment on a Sunday morning and then proceeded to snoop around. "You both are absolutely out of your minds right now. Seriously, how much did you drink?"

Natalie tossed him a serious look. "Tim! We made sure to eat and drink water between the champagne, wine, and martinis. So, we're not _that_ drunk. Oh! And we've both had a cup of coffee!"

"How did you get here?"

"We walked."

"You walked from the diner to my apartment?" Tim asked, horrified. "It's freezing out! And at least an hour or so away by foot!"

Tony blinked a few times. "Yeah, well, why do you think it took us so long to get here?"

Tim could hear groaning coming from the bedroom. He should probably get rid of Tony and Natalie soon. _And call them a cab._ "You're crazy! Listen, I'm going to call for a cab..."

Natalie looked sad, and gave him puppy dog eyes. "So you don't want to have breakfast with us?"

"Hey, McGee!" his neighbor yelled, opening the door, "do you think you could let your drunk ass friends into your apartment? Some of us want to sleep!"

"Sorry, sorry," Tim said, grabbing a hold of both Tony and Natalie and pulling them into his apartment. He shut the door and glared at them. "Thanks guys."

"You know what will make you feel better?" Tony asked.

"No, what?" Tim responded.

"Your favorite breakfast burrito."

"I'm not hungover, Tony."

Tony sighed and put the bag down onto the counter. "We were just trying to do something nice for you."

Tim felt a little bit guilty. Only little a bit though since they had woken him up so early. "Tell you want, I'll pull out the sleeper sofa and you guys can sleep there and when everyone wakes up at a _normal_ time, we can eat breakfast."

Instantly the smile was back on Tony's face. "Okay, sounds good to me. But, we don't have any jammies here. I suppose you don't want us walking around your apartment naked."

He cringed slightly. "I'll go find you something. Stay... stay here."

"Where else am I going to go?" Tony asked, honestly.

"I... really don't know," Tim said as he went back into his bedroom. He found some lounge pants and a tee shirt for Tony, and some sweats that Sarah had left behind for Natalie. Bringing them back out into the living room he discovered that Tony and Natalie had managed to pull out the sleeper sofa. Maybe they weren't as drunk as they appeared after all. "Here. You can borrow these."

Tony took the clothes and immediately began to strip of his tuxedo in the middle of Tim's living room, paying no attention to his surroundings that Tim was standing in the room with them.

Tim quickly threw his hands up and closed his eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he snapped. "Can you at least wait until I'm out of the room before you strip? I do not want to see you naked!"

"What? We've showered before!" Tony exclaimed.

"Wait? You guys took a shower together?" Natalie inquired, her eyes wide. "When did this happen?"

"A long time ago," Tim answered, glaring at Tony. "And it was in the NCIS showers because Tony opened a letter with the plague."

"And it wasn't just Tim," Tony said, grinning like a little kid. "Gibbs and Kate were there as well."

"Wow, I knew you were a close team but I didn't think you were _that_ close," Natalie remarked, taking Sarah's sweats and heading into the bathroom to change.

Tim continued to glare at the grinning Tony. "You realize she was almost on the team for two years before that story came up?"

Tony pulled his dress shirt off and then pulled Tim's tee shirt on. "Yes. It's a great story, Tim."

"Great? Tony, you almost died from the plague."

"Which makes it a great story! I beat the plague, Probie!"

"If you say so, Tony," Tim sighed as he turned back towards his bedroom. It had not felt like such a great time to him when Tony had been dying...

"Hey, McGee?" Tony said.

Tim turned around and looked at his partner. "Yeah?"

Tony gave him a genuine, soft smile now. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"No problem," Tim replied, "but you owe me, DiNozzo." _Big time._

All of a sudden three cell phones went off. Immediately, Tony and Tim groaned as they realized that it was their phones. Natalie emerged from the bathroom, looking at her watch, wearing Sarah's sweats and a pearl necklace. "Is that Gibbs?" she questioned.

Tony found his phone and held it up for the agents to see. Gibbs name flashed across the screen. He slid his finger over the answer button. "Hey, boss," he said, trying hard not to sound too drunk. "Do we have a case?"

" _Get McGee, get Callahan,"_ Gibbs said. " _Body was found in Rock Creek Park, wrapped in plastic."_

"Plastic?" Tony repeated, feeling like he should know the answer to this...

" _Yeah,"_ Gibbs snapped, " _The Port to Port Killer is back. Grab your gear! We have work to do."_


	21. EJ

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Season 8

 **A/N:** I was seriously considering going on a long hiatus from this site, but I've decided to just drown out the drama. Hope you like this chapter. This chapter starts my version of the Port-to-Port killer arc. And yes, EJ will be introduced into this verse.

 **amaia-** _I'm not sure Natalie would be the type to have sexy times on a friend's sofa with that friend sleeping in the other room lol, but I guess ya never know!_

* * *

It was still dark when Tim pulled his car next to the van. Red and blue flashing lights lit up the area in Rock Creek Park that the team had been called too. In the backseat of his car, Tony groaned, murmuring something about a headache. _Well, next time maybe you won't drink so much,_ Tim thought as he parked the car and shut it down.

Natalie watched through the windshield as Ducky and Jimmy pulled a gurney from the back of the Medical Examiner's van. "I'm not familiar with this case, Tim. But Tony and Gibbs, and even you seem familiar with it. Was this before I started?"

Tim nodded and took his keys out of the ignition. "Yeah. Few years ago the first body showed up in Rota, Spain. The NCIS team stationed there investigated but came up empty. Random bodies have showed up in different ports since."

"Hence the name Port-to-Port killer," Tony mumbled from the back. "Last body was found in Hawaii I believe. That was months ago."

"Are you okay?" Natalie asked, glancing in the backseat. "You don't look well, Tony."

"I'm fine. My head hurts," Tony snapped, opening his eyes and glaring at her.

"I told you not to have that last martini," Natalie chided him. "Did you finish your breakfast?"

Tony held up his empty take out container. "Yes, _Mom,_ I finished my breakfast. And it was cold. Timmy's girlfriend is lucky she doesn't have to come to the crime scene. She gets to heat up her breakfast and taste the diner food warm, the way it should be."

Tim looked at Natalie and whispered, "He gets cranky when he's tired, hung-over, and has to work."

Natalie turned back towards the front of the car. "I'll say," she whispered as she opened the door. A blast of cold air hit her in the face. She wished that there had been time to go home and change. The clothes that Tim had given her to borrow from his sister were just going to have to keep her warm enough underneath her jacket.

Gibbs was waiting for the three agents at the crime scene tape. He took in their appearances, grinning at Tony. "Rough night, DiNozzo?"

"Yes, I wasn't planning on having to work on New Year's Day, boss," Tony muttered.

"Neither was I," Gibbs said, softly. "Duty calls and Vance wants us on this case, not the team on duty."

Tony nodded his head, gritted his teeth, and ducked underneath the crime scene tape. "I'll work through it, boss."

Gibbs recalled times that Tony would show up hung over at crime scenes, but that had been way before Natalie had arrived on scene. It seemed that his change in behavior had happened before he began dating Natalie. While she had changed a lot about him, Gibbs was starting to realize that the change had been set in motion long before she had appeared in the bullpen.

Natalie and Tim followed behind Tony, dragging the gear. It appeared that even they knew this wasn't normal for Tony anymore and they pitied him. Tony would hate it if he knew that they were. Which was why both Natalie and Tim kept their mouths shut.

Ducky greeted them, solemnly when they arrived. "Ah, Timothy, Natalie. I'm sorry that this psychopath ruined your New Year's plans. You're young and you should be able to partake in festivities."

"It's okay, Ducky," Natalie said, putting down the bag she was carrying. "We managed to have a cold breakfast of diner food in the car."

"For your information, breakfast burritos cold are actually quite disgusting," Tim said.

"I will keep that in mind the next time I place an order at the diner," Ducky said with a slight grin.

Gibbs came up behind them. "Get to work. Photographs, sketches, let's go! I don't want to be in the cold too long!"

Tony, Tim, and Natalie got to work without another word.

* * *

Sarah's clothes that Tim had let Natalie borrow were swimming on her. Apparently, Tim's little sister liked her clothes to fit rather loosely. Natalie was finding it hard to concentrate when the sweater kept slipping off of her shoulder, revealing her collarbone and the fact that she had on a strapless bra.

However, sensory issues aside, Natalie was going to have to concentrate harder on their case. It was obvious once they arrived at the crime scene that everyone on the team, except her, was familiar with the Port-to-Port killer. Gibbs had shoved files in her hand when the reached NCIS and ordered her to sit down and get caught up. It was not an easy task. The cases were gruesome, with very little clues left behind. No one was suspected in this case yet. There just seemed to be a trail to follow that had started in Rota, Spain several years ago.

Natalie stretched out her aching neck. It was only eight in the morning and already she felt like she'd worked a full day. Of course, not sleeping at all the night before didn't help matters. It had been years since she had spent the entire night out partying but Tony brought out a younger, more vibrant side to her.

"Hey," Tim said, entering the bullpen. "Did you catch up?"

"Enough that I know we have extremely intelligent killer on our hands," Natalie replied.

"This is the first victim that's shown up here in Washington," Tim replied, a little bit excited. "Another team has been working this case with little results."

"Do you think we can do better?" Natalie asked him, honestly.

Tim shrugged his shoulders and sat down at his desk. Once the first body showed up he always thought that their team could do better; they were lead by Gibbs after all. "Yeah, I think we can do better. I think we can catch the guy."

Natalie pursed her lips and looked at the case file in front of her. "He's very meticulous, the killer. He cleans the bodies before dumping them to wash away evidence and he doesn't make mistakes. It could take us _years_ to catch him."

"Okay, let's profile his victims," Tim said, calling up the plasma screen. "All enlisted, none of them officers. So why does he dress them up as such?"

"Could be something to do with being enlisted once himself," Natalie replied. "He knew how a Navy officer would dress; even the bars on the uniform."

Tony entered the bullpen, still grumbling about his headache. He had found a clean pair of jeans in his desk, but the dress shirt that Tim let him borrow was a bit tight because of the weight Tim had lost since the beginning of least year. Tony hadn't gained weight himself, rather, Tim's shoulders were slimmer and there fore his shirt didn't fit Tony around his arms and neck. "Did my probie geniuses solve this case yet?"

Natalie followed him with her eyes to his desk. "We might be good, but we're not _that_ good. I need to profile the victims and I need to look over these cases without a pounding headache."

"I told you not to have that last glass of champagne," Tony said, echoing her sentiments from earlier at the crime scene.

"I seem to recall a certain very special agent egging me on," Natalie threw at him with a playful glance.

"So that would explain why you showed up at my apartment," Tim said. "Tony egged you on. I knew you didn't come too willingly, Natalie."

Tony grunted and slammed his drawer shut. "Can we get back to work? _Please?_ "

Natalie smiled at him sweetly. "Yes. Of course."

"Do we have _anything_ in this case?" Tony grumbled, resting his aching head in his hands.

"We know what kind of knot he likes to use," Natalie said. "Oh, all his victims so far have been male. I have a call out to the original agent on the case to get the criminal profile that she had done. But... it might be awhile thanks to the time difference in Rota."

Tony's head shot up. "Rota?"

Natalie nodded. "Yeah. Spain. We have an office there."

He glowered at her. "I know we have an office there. No need to get sassy with me."

She titled her head to the side and sighed, "I'm not getting sassy."

"Could be a while before Rota gets back to you," Tim said, "Maybe you could rest down in Abby's lab."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Natalie asked, earnestly.

"No, you just... you look tired," Tim offered.

Tony now threw his glare at Tim. "Well, yeah! We were up all night partying! Feel like I'm back at Ohio State!"

Tim grumbled, "Except you didn't wake up naked with a nameless girl in your bed."

"Excuse me? What is that supposed to imply?"

"Oh, please, you know what I meant."

Natalie could see Tony becoming predatory. That was never good. Normally the senior field agent could smile and go along with Tim's banter, but today he wasn't feeling well, sleep deprived, and beyond grumpy. She could see this erupting into a physical confrontation...

Someone else spoke up before Natalie could and all three agents' attention was turned towards a petite blonde woman standing in their squad room. "Sorry, hope I'm not interrupting anything. I got an email that my assistance was needed on a case."

Tony glowered at her. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Oh, sorry!" the woman said, stepping forward and holding her hand out to him, "I'm Special Agent EJ Barrett."

"You're Special Agent Barrett?" Natalie questioned, surprised.

"Yes," EJ replied, turning towards her. "I heard that you caught my case here in D.C."

"And you flew all the way from Rota?"

"No, no, I was home in Ohio for the holidays. I flew from Dayton."

Tony stood, coming around his desk and going to stand right next to EJ. "You were in Rota?"

EJ nodded at him. "Yes. My team has been working this case for months. Didn't Director Vance tell you?"

Tim sighed. "You'll have to forgive him, Agent Barrett. He had a lot to drink last night."

Letting that one slide, Tony studied the newcomer. She must have been the one that took the job in Rota four years ago when Tony declined. He never regretted that decision. After all, he wouldn't have fallen in love with Jeanne. _Then again, maybe I should regret that decision._ EJ was a tiny thing, smaller than Natalie by an inch or two. Her hair was long and blonde, and she had pretty blue eyes...

Natalie nervously shuffled her papers about and stood up, deliberately forcing herself between Tony and EJ. "Why don't we go talk in the conference room?" she suggested to the other female agent. "It will be quieter in there without these two bickering."

"We were not bickering," Tony argued with her. "We were having a lively discussion."

"Well, your _lively discussion_ will be distracting," Natalie argued right back as she climbed the steps with EJ.

EJ saw the broad grin that crossed Tony's face as they reached the top of the stairs. Natalie ignored her partner and led the way into the conference room. "How long have you been stationed at headquarters?" she asked, making small talk.

Natalie closed the door. "I joined NCIS a little over a year ago. They helped me solve a cold case in Boston and Agent Gibbs offered me the job. He had a vacant spot on his team and thought I'd fit in."

"Do you?" EJ asked, honestly.

"Yes," Natalie snapped. "I wouldn't judge my team on what you saw downstairs. Last night was New Year's; we all did a little too much drinking and we're cranky today."

"And you're relationship with Agent DiNozzo?"

"Why is that important?"

EJ smiled, coyly. "He's rather attractive."

Natalie slapped her legal pad down onto the table to end the conversation. "What can you tell me about the Port-to-Port killer?"

"Sadly, I can't tell you much. The first victim was found in Rota. My team investigated but came up empty," EJ said, detecting the tiny bit of jealousy in Natalie's demeanor.

"A body was discovered in Hawaii as well," Natalie said.

"In Pearl Harbor," EJ confirmed. "Vance sent my team there. We came up empty and were reassigned to Rota. We shipped out several times since for this case. Still nothing."

Natalie made a note on her pad. "Were their any similarities between the bodies?"

EJ scrunched her nose up. "You mean besides the obvious? No, both victims had different heights, builds, and positions in the Navy. They were close in age."

"So, besides being wrapped in plastic, bound with a knot, cut at the throat, and dressed in officers uniforms—that's all you have?"

"This killer is flawless, Agent Callahan. He doesn't make mistakes."

"Did you have a profile done?"

"I didn't see the need to have one done, at least not yet."

She thought back to her first case with NCIS. They had caught a serial rapist and murder when he'd finally made a mistake. And she had written a pretty intense, detailed profile. Not having one seemed rather arrogant and stupid on EJ's part. "They all make a mistake eventually, Agent Barrett. Sooner or later, the Port-to-Port killer is going to make one."

A resentful look crossed EJ's face. "Hey! My team is a damn good team and they have worked their asses off to find this killer! And they're going to continue to work their asses off because _this_ is my case."

Natalie grabbed her pad and silently stood. Tucking it underneath her arm, she opened the door to the conference room and stepped out. "Director Vance will be in around eleven; he had a New Year's brunch to attend before coming into the office. You can talk with him then."

Slamming the door shut, Natalie headed back towards the bullpen. _The nerve of her... asking about my relationship with Tony..._

"How'd it go?" Tony interrupted her thoughts upon her arrival.

"Fine. She knows nothing more than we do. It was a waste of her time to come here," Natalie said, tossing her pad down onto her desk. "She hasn't even written a proper profile on our killer. How does she expect him to be caught if we don't have a proper profile?"

"Uh-oh," the senior field agent quipped, looking at Tim. "Someone sounds a little bit jealous."

"Jealous?" the probationary agent snapped back. "Of what? Poor profiling skills?"

Tim shook his head. He didn't want to get involved. Sure, he'd seen the way Barrett had looked at Tony... but a lot of women looked at Tony that way...

Tony was more willing to get involved. "Oh come on, you saw the way she looked at me. You hate it when other women look at me that way, and when it happens you turn into this prowling cougar."

Natalie glared at him, resting her hands on her hips. "And you don't?"

"I have never denied that I can predatory when another man blinks in your direction."

"This isn't about _how_ she looked at you, okay?"

"Hey!" Gibbs snapped coming up behind Tony's desk and smacking him lightly. "This isn't a high school! Keep the relationship problems out of here!"

"How come I get smacked on the back of the head, boss?"

"My father taught me never to hit a woman."

Natalie's stance softened a bit when the disgruntled look came over Tony's face. Gibbs suddenly had his eyes on her and she knew what he wanted. "Agent Barrett didn't have any new information for me."

Gibbs nodded. "What were you saying about a proper profile?"

"Um... there isn't one," Natalie said.

"Write one," Gibbs ordered.

He went to his desk and grabbed his keys. He needed a refill on his coffee, telling his team that when he got back he was hoping for some better results.


	22. Inconsistencies

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Season 8

 **A/N:** Happy Thursday! Hope you enjoy this latest update, please let me know what you think :)

 **amaia-** _I have no plans on leaving or ending my stories :)_

* * *

Abby caught the scent of lavender and turned to see Natalie slip into the lab. She hadn't called any of them down here so she was surprised to see the female agent. "Hey," she greeted. "I don't have anything yet. This killer scrubbed the body clean, which left very little forensic evidence ."

Natalie pulled a stool up and sat down next to Abby. "I didn't come down here to see if you had anything for us. I needed.. I needed someone to, you know, talk to about... girl stuff. My friends back in Boston won't be up from partying yet.

"Oh," Abby said in understanding. "Well, I'm not getting much done down here, so sure... fire away!"

"I'm worried, Abby," Natalie replied, uncertainly, "about Tony and his will power."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Special Agent Barrett. She was clearly checking him out today in the squad room and Tony didn't care. He _liked_ it."

Abby frowned. Sometimes it was hard for Tony not to revert to old habits. "I think it's more of a reflexive response from him. Don't worry, Natalie, I don't think you have to worry about Agent Barrett. She isn't his type."

Natalie wanted to know what part of attractive blonde wasn't Tony's type when the elevator sounded and someone else joined them. She wasn't surprised to look up to see EJ. A hard look crossed the other woman's face. Natalie slipped off the stool. "Thanks, Abs," she whispered before turning to go.

"I read your profile," EJ said, her jaw tight. "I could have written that myself."

"So, why didn't you?" Natalie inquired. "A good profile is needed in order to catch a serial killer."

"There were plenty of notes in my report. Good investigators would have been able to follow the clues," EJ snarked.

"You're welcome," Natalie hissed, spinning about on her heel. She slammed her finger into the button for the elevator, hearing Abby tell EJ she didn't have any new information.

The doors to the elevator slid open and Natalie stepped inside, clenching her fists at her sides. _Good investigators would have written a damn profile! Or better yet, Agent Smart Ass, they would have had one done for them!_

Pacing, Natalie reached out and pressed the button for the squad room floor. She wasn't normally territorial, but there was something about the way EJ held herself around her, around Tony, that was just rubbing her the wrong way. It had been a long time before she had wanted to pull another woman's hair out for flirting with her man. The feeling was so high school...

EJ slid through the doors just as they were closing. Natalie shut her eyes and counted to ten.

"You don't like me do you, Callahan."

"What gave you that impression?"

"We work a tough job. Dating and relationships are tricky..."

Natalie opened her eyes and turned towards EJ. "What are you implying?"

EJ gave her an innocent smile. "Nothing. I was making small talk. I was going to say that we take what we can get when we can get it, huh?"

"Are you looking for dating advice, Barrett?" Natalie asked, holding her arms tightly at her sides. "Looking for the single male in the building?" _So you can screw around with him in the copy room?_ "There's a lot of nice, attractive men at headquarters if you must know."

"Starting with your partner?" EJ questioned, still smiling. "I got to know him a little bit today. We chatted in the break room. He's very... suave, charming... sexy, but also, smart and witty. I like those qualities in a man. Having a killer body doesn't hurt..."

Natalie so wanted to pull that blonde ponytail now and punch EJ in the face. She resisted the urge by sliding a step away from EJ. "Tony has a girlfriend," she said, simply. It was common knowledge around the building that Tony and Natalie were dating, but at the same time it wasn't still treated like it was a big, giant secret. She wanted to keep it that way.

EJ shrugged her shoulders as the doors opened. "So? That hasn't stopped me in the past before. I've always been a go-getter, Natalie. If I see something I want, I go and get it. Right now, there are two things that I want—the Port-to-Port killer, and Tony. Wonder which one I'll get first."

Breathing hard, Natalie watched as EJ stepped off the elevator and towards a desk behind the MCRT's bullpen. As if things couldn't possibly get worse around the place... now she was going to have to deal with having that woman sitting behind her everyday? And there was no way EJ was getting her paws on Tony. "Over my dead body," she whispered, angrily as she moved towards her desk.

Tim and Tony were standing at her desk, watching her closely. Natalie pushed through them and dropped down into her chair.

"Um... is everything okay?" Tim ventured to ask.

"Just peachy," Natalie snapped, opening her top drawer and peering inside. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she slammed it shut. "Abs didn't have anything."

Tony could see the grin on EJ's face from where he was standing. He liked her. She was a ball-buster, and it had been fun watching her go toe-to-toe with Gibbs just about twenty minutes ago. However, he didn't want to see her going at it with Natalie... "Gibbs said we could break for lunch."

Natalie yanked her jacket off the filing cabinet so hard that the plant she kept there toppled over. "Let's go," she said, ignoring the plant. "I'll pick that up later." And with that she stormed back towards the elevator, not bothering to wait for her team.

* * *

"I really thought Natalie was going to rip EJ's throat out," Abby said before taking a large sip of her soda. "You should have been there, Tim."

"So, I wasn't imagining the fire coming out of her eyes before we left," Tim mused. "Man she was pissed when she came back from your lab."

Abby tossed him a small smile. "They rode the elevator back upstairs together. What do you think they talked about? Actually, I'm surprised that they came off the elevator in once piece. I seriously was sniffing a cat fight."

Tim knew that Natalie would have had to been pushed to the extremes to start a fight. She was usually in control of her emotions, it took a lot for her temper to be brought out...unless of course... "EJ's been flirting and making eyes at Tony all day."

"Natalie told me. She's nervous that Tony's going to leave her for EJ."

"I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day."

Abby shrugged. Tony's track record with women was well known around the building and of course embellished by the gossip mill. Natalie was probably confused and not sure what to think. EJ was the first serious threat to their relationship; a rather hot threat to their relationship too.

Tim's cell phone buzzed, pulling his attention away from the conversation and towards the screen. A surprised expression passed over his face. When Abby inquired about it, he sighed, "Gibbs. Apparently, he's taking the team off the case and handing it back to Agent Barrett."

"What? That's insane!" Abby exclaimed.

"It wasn't our original case. Now that Natalie did a profile, Vance must feel it's best in Barrett's hands," Tim replied, knowing that Gibbs was going to be pissed.

"Natalie's going to flip," she said.

 _Oh, right, Natalie... she'll be even more pissed off than Gibbs._ "Hopefully this is the last time we hear from Barrett."

Abby gave him a stern look. "Like that's going to happen. Her team, no matter how good they are, are not going to catch the killer in a week with that profile. I have a gut feeling she'll be back in D.C at some point."

Tim finished his soda and wished it were spiked. "Chances of the Port-to-Port killer striking again here in D.C are minimal. According to Natalie's profile, he never picks his victims in the same port. It adds to the unpredictably of his murders. No one knows where he's going to strike next."

"Which means, she could be back," Abby pointed out to him. "And it means that our team is going to have to play nice whether we like it or not."

"Seems like Natalie was trying to play nice," Tim grumbled, "EJ comes off as a woman that gets what she wants, when she wants it, and doesn't play fairly."

* * *

Tony had spent most of lunch trying to talk to Natalie, but she wasn't responding to his efforts. In fact, he was having a one sided conversation. "Are you mad at me?" he finally asked when she pushed her plate away after barely touching her food.

Natalie raised her gray eyes to his green ones and her jaw twitched. She reached for her purse and found her wallet. Pulling out her credit card, she placed it on the table so the waitress could take it back to the register. Was she mad at him? Maybe not directly but he didn't help matters by pouring on his charm around EJ.

"So... you're not going to talk to me this entire lunch?" Tony questioned, watching her carefully.

"Maybe you would have rather gone to lunch with EJ," Natalie snapped.

He had never seen her so jealous. Yes, she would get flustered when a woman would approach him while they were out, but nothing like this. She looked like she could rip the other woman into pieces at the moment. "You honestly think I'd rather be with her than you?"

She waited until the waitress had taken her credit card and was out of earshot. "I don't know. You must have given her some kind of signal because she's under the impression she can get you."

Tony licked his lips, carefully choosing his words. EJ had been hanging around him a lot since she had showed up at headquarters, and hell yes, she was hot, but really, he felt nothing for her. "Ok, I don't know what she said to you, but beautiful, you know that there is no other woman in the world for me. It doesn't matter how attractive she is, how sexy, or how strong willed—she will never, ever measure up to you."

Natalie pulled back from him, the sweater sliding off of her shoulder. She didn't bother to push it up this time. "Please, I've heard all the gossip that goes around. I know how you used to just keep a woman for two weeks and then move on. Well, we've been together almost a year. You must be ready to kick me to the curb by now."

"Kick you to the curb? Are you insane?" Tony sputtered with a shake of his head.

"Well then, tell me! Tell me I have nothing to worry about!" Natalie gasped, tears springing in her eyes.

"Oh, baby," Tony whispered, taking her face into his hands and kissing her. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I want her gone, back to Rota or Naples, or where ever the hell Vance wants to send her," Natalie whimpered.

Tony heard his phone buzz on the table and reached for it. He silently read the message from Tim. "Looks like you're getting your wish," he said. "EJ left with your profile and headed back to Spain to meet her team."

Natalie blinked back the tears in her eyes. "But... the killer is here. In Washington. Even though Ducky thinks that the body was dumped thirty-six hours ago, that doesn't mean he's already fled."

"EJ thought he moved quickly. That way he wasn't caught."

"Of course she thought that. Probably to cover her ass. He's going to strike here again, Tony. It feels like he wants something here in D.C."

"And we'll be there when he does strike again, but for now, we're off the case."

It was EJ's doing, Natalie knew this. She thought that she could bring the killer in on her own. Natalie knew it was impossible. She had been there before, hunting a serial killer on her own with little help. It wasn't until she got to D.C and Tony, Gibbs, and McGee had assisted her that she found her murderer. Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair as the waitress dropped her receipt on the table.

As she signed the receipt with a flourish, Tony studied her carefully. He was glad that EJ was going to be gone. Natalie had suddenly become very insecure about their relationship with EJ around, and really... EJ was a dangerous woman. Reaching for Natalie's hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze. When she looked at him, he smiled, lovingly, reassuring her without words that they were going to be just fine.

* * *

EJ was not gone by the time the team made it back from lunch like they had previously believed. In fact, she was standing in the middle of the bullpen, looking annoyed. "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked them, gesturing towards the plasma screen with their case information. "Agent Gibbs finally let me look over your crime scene notes—there is no way your victim was killed by the Port-to-Port killer. There are way too many inconsistencies."

Tony tossed his jacket out, throwing it over the back of his chair. "Considering we didn't have a lot to go on, when a body shows up, wrapped in plastic... we didn't have any _consistencies_ to compare it them too."

"So this is my fault?" EJ snapped. "This case has been on _everyone's_ radar for the last several years."

"You forgot a profile," Tim said with a shrug. "If we had one, we might have caught the inconsistencies and you wouldn't have had to come out here."

"Fine, I made a mistake, I forgot to profile," EJ argued, her fists clenching. "But the facts in this case have always been clear."

Natalie was confused. Their crime scene had matched the others. What inconsistencies was EJ squawking about? "The victim was a petty officer, dressed as a lieutenant, throat cut deep, bound, and wrapped in plastic—did we miss something?"

EJ didn't bother to turn around and look at Natalie, she kept her eyes fixated on Tony. "Wrong kind of knife was used, no trinket left behind."

"Well, that's rather unfair. How where we supposed to know what kind of knife he used until Abby ran tests?" Natalie questioned.

"You have a copy-cat," EJ said, ignoring her. "Not shocking, this has been a highly publicized case."

"Doesn't mean the Port-to-Port killer won't strike here," Tony told her, matching her intense gaze.

"If that happens," EJ said with an easy smile at him, handing him her card, "I hope you call me."

Tony took the card and crushed it in his hand while EJ gave a flick of her blonde hair in Natalie's direction, turned on her heel, and disappeared out of the squad room. When she was gone he tossed the card into the trash. He had no intention of calling her, whether or not the Port-to-Port killer showed up in Washington.


	23. The Second B

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Season 8

 **A/N:** Happy Wednesday readers! Enjoy!

 **amaia-** _Yes, EJ will be back but it won't be until a little bit later._

* * *

It wasn't startling to find her standing behind him in the men's room. Tony smirked at her in the mirror while he washed his hands. "You know, there isn't anyone else in the building today—we could have this conversation outside of the restroom."

Natalie bit her lower lip and leaned back against the door. Her hair came loose from her ponytail and a few pieces slipped down, covering her face. "I saw what you did," she whispered.

"What did I do?" Tony asked, innocently as he dried his hands. He tossed the paper towel in the trash and turned towards her. "I certainly haven't cracked the case, and I certainly didn't get to spend New Year's Day with you the way I wanted too."

"You crushed her card and threw it away," Natalie replied, casting her eyes downward.

Tony moved towards her and pulled her close to him, kissing her passionately. "Of course I threw the card away," he told her, breaking the kiss. "She means nothing to me and you mean everything to me. If we catch the Port-to-Port case again I'll have McGee call her."

Natalie smiled at him and ran her hands up his arms. "I'll make sure I properly thank you tonight when we get home," she promised, with a sultry look in her eyes. She gripped his upper arms and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "We didn't get to spend New Year's Day in bed like you hoped but maybe we'll get to spend the whole night together."

He grinned. How could she even think for a moment that he would fall out of love with her? Tony suddenly kissed her, deeply, pulling her body as close to his as he possibly could so he could feel as much of her as their clothed bodies would allow.

She didn't protest. Perhaps she had overreacted to the EJ's flirting and declarations that she was going to get Tony—but Natalie could be insecure about relationships, she could insecure in general. When Tony had crushed that card... she knew it was his way of telling her that _she_ was the only one for him.

"Dear God!" Tim gasped, breaking them apart. "Could you at least do that in a supply closet!"

"Who says we haven't?" Tony asked, cheekily.

Natalie wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, shyly snuck out Tony's arms, and then out of the restroom.

Tim continued to look at Tony, incredulously.

Tony grinned. "What?" he said, incredulously. "If your girlfriend was here you'd be making out with her somewhere in this building too." With that same broad grin on his face, Tony moved past Tim and headed back towards the bullpen. His break time and make-out session with Natalie was over—for the time being.

* * *

Gibbs carried a tray of coffees into the bullpen. He felt terrible that his team did not sleep the night before, and after having to deal with EJ, well... they deserved a little act of kindness.

Of course, Tony was weary of the act of kindness. He always made it known that when Gibbs was being nice something was wrong. "Boss? What's this for?" the senior agent asked, a little shyly.

"You've worked hard today," Gibbs said, handing out the coffee. He looked directly at Natalie as he handed hers over, "Some of us took on extra responsibilities."

"I was just doing my job," Natalie replied.

Gibbs scowled, not at her, but at the fact that they had wasted so much time on this case because of Barrett's mistakes. "Which is more than I can say for Agent Barrett at this point. She screwed up and now we're sprinting to make up lost time."

Natalie glanced at her exhausted teammates. They had been making up for lost time since lunch and it was clear how tired they all were. She had tried to take a shower in the locker room to wake herself up but it had failed. She was just too tired...

Tony broke eye contact with her and reached for the clicker. "We do know that Petty Officer Howard left this bar downtown three nights ago with a few of his shipmates, one of them he bunked with. Ship was on liberty until this morning. I've been trying to set up communications with the skipper all day but there's storm causing interference."

"Okay, take McGee on the next flight out to the carrier," Gibbs said. "Callahan and I will keep trying to alert them that you're coming."

"Boss... I don't do well on carriers out to sea," McGee reminded him.

"McGee. You work for the Navy," Tony snapped, opening up his drawer and finding the bottle of motion sickness pills that he kept there. He tossed them at his partner. "Come on. We have a chopper to catch."

Natalie clutched tightly to her coffee cup as Tony swooped in, kissed her on the cheek, and disappeared into the elevator with Tim. A shiver that started at the base of her spine and ran all the way up her back took over her body. For some reason she didn't want Tony and Tim to go without her. And it wasn't because Gibbs intimidated her. In fact, he was much softer with her when the guys were not around. Absolute dread filled her heart, as if that was going to be the last time she ever laid eyes on her partners.

Gibbs brought her out of her daze when he laid his hand on her shoulder. "We need to go try to contact that aircraft carrier; to let them know that Tony and Tim are coming to speak to witnesses."

She shook off the terrible vibes she was getting and nodded. Natalie, still using both hands to clutch tightly to her coffee, turned and followed the team leader up to MTAC. It wouldn't do them any good if she was lost in a fear-filled haze. Tony and Tim could handle themselves and she was sure they were going to be fine. _But if that's the case, why do you feel the need to tell yourself that over and over again?_

"Can you get the _Seahawk_ for me?" Gibbs asked the technician as the pair of agents entered MTAC. "Need to speak to the skipper."

"I'll do my best, Agent Gibbs, but Agent DiNozzo has been trying for the last hour," the technician replied. "The feed keeps breaking up thanks to the storm."

Natalie stood behind Gibbs, watching as the snow on the large screen tried to materialize into an image of a Navy Captain. If this storm was so large, why was Gibbs so willing to send Tony and Tim flying into it? "Gibbs... maybe Tony and Tim should wait until the storm passes."

Gibbs glared at her over his shoulder. "We have a murderer to catch and we've wasted plenty of time chasing after their wrong killer. We can't wait."

"I know, Gibbs, just... we should consider Tony and Tim's safety."

"Both are trained, by me; they'll be fine on that flight."

 _And what happens if the flight goes down?_ Natalie questioned to herself, too afraid to ask the question.

Someone cleared his or her throat. The two agents turned to see that the Captain of the _Seahawk_ was on their screen. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have limited flights coming out to the ship today. Your agents are going to be on separate flights."

Natalie felt even more bad vibes. "Gibbs..."

Gibbs held a hand up to silence her. "I'll send my senior agent out first. Old friend of yours, Captain."

"Look forward to seeing him again," the Captain chuckled.

"Have Agent DiNozzo check in with me when he lands," the lead agent instructed.

"I'll make sure it's the first thing he does," the Captain said before ending the transmission.

Gibbs turned and took the steps two at a time out of MTAC, barking at Natalie to follow him. In the small space between the MTAC door and the door to the hallway, he turned on her, getting into her face. "Don't question my decisions, Callahan. That will be a one way ticket back to Boston for you! Got it?"

Natalie blinked back the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. She was tougher than this, normally, but lack of sleep and having to deal with EJ had rendered her pretty emotional. "Yes... yes, I got it."

He snarled and pulled the door to the hallway open. "Good. Get back to work."

She stood there when the door slammed in her face, coffee still clutched between her hands, and cried.

* * *

"Ah, Jethro, there you are," Ducky said when Gibbs appeared back in the bullpen. "I've finished my report on Petty Officer Howard."

"Good, maybe it will help Tony," Gibbs grumbled, still angry with Natalie. "I sent him to the _Seahawk_ to interview the Petty Officer's shipmates."

Ducky frowned. He watched as Natalie crept back into the bullpen, her eyes swollen from crying, and he sighed, "Well, it will help him to ask if Petty Officer Howard was suicidal, then I'd suggest you inform Anthony that the wound on Howard's neck was issued post-mortem. With no other wounds on his body, I can only conclude that the young man killed himself by overdosing on something. We missed it because the Port-to-Port killer drugs his victims before killing them."

Natalie eased her hold on her coffee cup. She hadn't even thought about suicide as being a possible cause of death. _You spent half the day looking for the Port-to-Port killer, of course you missed it,_ she chided herself. "He was last seen at a bar with his shipmates," she simply stated.

Gibbs clenched his jaw. They had wasted even more time looking for a killer when the truth was, Howard had killed himself—they really should be looking for someone that covered the crime up. "And we never did find the original crime scene."

"I am attempting to contact the _Seahawk_ to get Petty Officer Howard's last psychological evaluation," Ducky said. "The storm is interfering."

"Tony can get it," Gibbs said. "I'll have him fax it to you, Duck."

"I appreciate it, Jethro," Ducky said. He apologized once again, "I am sorry that I missed this earlier."

Gibbs shook his head. "It's not your fault. If Barrett had prepared her case better we wouldn't have been running around in circles."

Ducky agreed but looking at Natalie's face, he felt the need to add, "While that is true, Jethro, something good did come out of all this—we finally got a profile done by a competent profiler."

Natalie smiled at him gratefully. Ducky always seemed to know when she needed reminding that she was good at what she did and that she shouldn't be blaming herself for the team leader's bad mood. "Thanks, Ducky," she whispered as she went back to her desk. "I can try and access Howard's files..."

"No, go wait in MTAC," Gibbs snapped at her pointing towards the stairs. "I'll have the ship's doctor contact you."

"Yes, Gibbs," Natalie said, timidly as she quickly disappeared up the steps.

Ducky waited until she was gone before speaking. "Jethro, that was rather cold. The poor girl has been through a lot today. Barely had any sleep and you're snapping at her."

Gibbs glared at the medical examiner. "We have a case to close, Ducky, I don't have time for my team's _emotional_ problems. If that makes me a cold hearted bastard, then so be it."

* * *

Tony slipped on the pair of headphones and waited to be patched through to MTAC. Of course Gibbs was going to check in with him the moment he stepped onto the _Seahawk._ He wasn't sure why... it wasn't like he had the chance to talk to any of the crew yet about Petty Officer Howard. He was surprised when Natalie was the one that answered the call. Tony had been expecting the team leader. "Nat? Where's Gibbs?"

Natalie stood in the middle of MTAC, frowning slightly. "Punishing me," she muttered, confusing him. "I've been ordered to stay here and field calls."

"Field calls?" Tony repeated. "From who?"

"You, McGee, the doctor on the _Seahawk,_ " Natalie answered.

"Why are you contacting the doctor?"

"Ducky determined that Petty Officer Howard's death was a suicide."

Tony had not seen that one coming. He thought they would be looking for a copy-cat, not at a cover up. "Guess I know how I'm talking too first—the ship's doctor. If it's the same one when I was stationed here, he'll be thrilled to see me."

Natalie looked away at the back of the technician's head. Maybe she was tired, maybe she was emotional from dealing with EJ, but she felt tears gathering in her eyes again, and escaping easily. "If we find out anything else here, I'll let you know."

"Hey," Tony said, noticing the tears. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Natalie lied.

"Oh no, it's something," Tony countered. "You wouldn't be crying if it wasn't."

She licked her lips and looked back at him. "I just think we should have waited to send you out to the ship, with that storm it's not safe to fly and land on an aircraft carrier."

He suddenly could see where this was going. "And you told that to Gibbs. That's why you're being _punished._ "

"Yes. He told me that if I _questioned_ his decision again, he was going to ship me back to Boston."

"Second _b_ stands for bastard. He isn't going to ship you back to Boston. Do you know how many times he's threatened to fire me?"

Natalie took a deep, shuddering breath. Yes, she was aware that Gibbs had threatened to terminate Tony's employment at NCIS, and the team leader never went through with that threat. She felt slightly better, but she was still worried about Tony and Tim's safety. "Tony... thanks."

Tony smiled at her. If he was there with her he would wipe her tears and kiss her, but he would settle for the smile that she gave him. "Wish me luck. I'll call you as soon as I have more, since I'm assuming you're staking out in MTAC today." He ended the transmission and closed his eyes for a second. It appeared that the longest day ever was just going to get longer.

* * *

"Special Agent DiNozzo," the nervous seamen in front of him said, shaking, "I swear I had no idea that Howard was going to commit suicide."

"Someone had to have found him," Tony responded, making notes on his notepad. "And cover up the fact that it was suicide."

"Fine, I'll give you that, but it wasn't me."

"What can you tell me about Petty Officer Howard? Why would someone want to hide that he commited suicide?"

The young man sitting in front of him sighed, heavily. "His family was pretty religious. Maybe they covered it up to protect his parents from any pain, I don't know. He was a likable guy. People enjoyed hanging out with him; he had a lot of friends."

Tony could see that from the psych evaluation in front of him. There was nothing to suggest that the petty officer had been suffering mental illness, but it did state concerns that he was not handling the pressures of the Navy that well. He made another note on his pad, clicked his pen and thought of his next question. "Do you know the petty officer's family?"

"No, sir."

"Did the petty officer talk about his family?"

"Only a little."

Tony raised his eyebrows, suggesting that the young man should elaborate some more, but before that could happen someone stepped into the room. Immediately the NCIS agent was furious that someone was interrupting his interview. "Can I help you with something?" he snapped.

Eyes shifting between the young man at the table, and the agent, the communications officer that had interrupted, replied, "Sorry to interrupt, sir. But the Captain wanted me to come and inform you immediately... we lost communication with the plane that Special Agent McGee was on."

His throat tightened up, his heart started to beat wildly. "Is the storm interfering with communications?" Tony asked, praying that the plane had not crashed into the ocean. It was winter; the water in the Atlantic was going to be freezing. If the passengers survived the crash they wouldn't survive long in the water. But, judging from the look in the officer's eyes, Tony knew the answer even before he gave it.

"I'm sorry, sir," the officer said, sadly, "the plane went down over the ocean. It doesn't appear that anyone survived."


	24. Adrift

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Season 8

 **A/N:** I hope you like the resolution to the cliffhanger in the last chapter.

 **amaia-** _Natalie is not pregnant. You have to remember at this point in the story she's been up for about twenty four to thirty six hours lol. Guess that would make her seem like she's pregnant..._

* * *

Propellers thundering above him only added to the blood rushing and pounding in his ears.

Tony gripped tightly to his harness and attempted to take slow, steady breaths. In the last twenty minutes or so everything had unraveled. He had been trying to assure himself that the crew of the chopper had escaped the crash and used their life raft and were in fact alive. Just because the beacon had not been activated on the raft didn't mean that the entire crew and the passengers were dead. _Tim cannot be dead... I can't handle it..._

Since hearing about the crash Tony was struggling to concentrate. Shock and denial had slammed into him—similar to when Kate had been shot and was lying there on that roof with a bullet between her eyes. He'd shared so much more with Tim though, more pain, more laughs, more tears than he had ever shared with Kate because her life had been cut short. Losing Tim was harder to take.

" _Agent DiNozzo,"_ the pilot said over the radio. " _We're approaching the crash site."_

Foul tasting bile rose in his throat. Tony just meekly nodded his head. He slipped his eyes shut and mentally prepared himself; he might be about to partake in recovering his friend's body. _If Tom Hanks can survive alone on an island... Tim can survive this,_ Tony thought, referring to the movie _Castaway._ Tony had all the confidence in the world that his probie could survive...

The chopper pitched violently to one side, reminding Tony that the flying conditions were not perfect and his eyes flew open. The weather had worsened since the search and rescue teams had been dispatched to locate the missing crew. If they weren't careful, they could end up in the ocean as well. His eyes flew open at that thought. What would Gibbs do if he lost half his team? What about Natalie? _Why the hell did I insist on coming on this mission?_

He hadn't even said good-bye to Natalie. Tony had hopped on the first chopper up into the air without so much as a peep to his team back in D.C. There would be hell to pay when he made it back to D.C but he figured it would a little hell to pay would be better than wasting time that he could be out finding Tim. Natalie would understand. Gibbs... will fire him... but maybe not with the kick in the ass he probably deserved.

" _Sir, the crash site is right underneath us,"_ the pilot informed him.

It was like time suddenly stopped as Tony peered through the pounding rains and winds below him. Tony could see debris, fuel leaking into the ocean, but no life raft. His chest tightened. The ocean raged, consuming the debris and quite possibly anyone who was a passenger on the helicopter. _I should have been with him,_ Tony thought, remorsefully. _It's my job to look out for my team._

Tony would give anything to take Tim's place. And then Natalie's face flashed to the forefront—what would happen to her if he didn't come back? Just thinking about her anguish broke his heart. He stared at the ocean, its waves crashing and rolling angrily over the hull of the chopper. Either this day was going to have a happy ending or it was going to become one of the worst days of his life.

* * *

"We're getting interference from the storm, Agent Gibbs," the Captain told the surly agent. "If the life raft has been used and the beacon activated, we're not getting a signal."

"Your crews have been out there for nearly forty-five minutes," Gibbs snapped. "Are you telling me that they've found nothing?"

"The crew with Agent DiNozzo found the crash site. They're searching in that area. I'm sorry that I do not have more to report to you."

"Agent DiNozzo is on one of those choppers?"

Natalie had stepped back, away from Gibbs. She had been falling apart from exhaustion before, but now that Tim was missing and Tony was out flying in a storm looking for him—she was really falling apart.

Gibbs had been a bear, more so than usual, when he found out that the chopper carrying Tim had gone down in the Atlantic. Last transmissions from the helicopter to the aircraft carrier suggested mechanical failure. At this point the lead agent didn't care what the cause of the crash was... he just wanted to find his agent alive and bring him home. _Of course now I have to worry about bringing two agents home. Tony, I'm going to kill you if you survive this!_ "You tell Agent DiNozzo to get his ass back to that ship... or I'm going to fire his ass!"

The Captain didn't look thrilled with that idea. The crew that Tony was flying with was probably the closest ones to the passengers if they survived the crash. Pulling them back now could mean life or death for that crew. "Agent Gibbs, I don't have to tell you I can't do that..." he replied, just as someone was calling his attention.

"Captain, there's a distinct possibility that I've already lost one agent—I'm not going to lose another because of his stupidity!" Gibbs barked, vaguely aware that he wasn't being paid attention too.

"Well, your _stupid_ agent just found a life raft with two survivors in it," the Captain informed Gibbs, calmly. "One of them might be your agent. Do you still want me to order Agent DiNozzo back to the ship?"

Natalie held her breath. If Tony had found Tim there was no way he was going to listen to Gibbs order to head back to the _Seahawks._ Actually there was no guarantee that the rescue team was going to listen to Gibbs order anyways..."Can we confirm that it's Agent McGee, Captain?" she asked, her voice sounding hoarse and weak.

The Captain turned his attention to the female agent. "Considering that there were only three people on that flight—the pilot, co-pilot, and Agent McGee, the chances that it is him are high. I know the pilot. He probably made sure his passengers were off the chopper before it went down."

Gibbs clenched his fists at his sides. "Agent Callahan and myself are coming to the _Seahawk._ "

"Agent Gibbs, my crew can handle this," the Captain argued.

"The rest of my team is coming to the ship," Gibbs snapped. "Prepare for more agents, Captain. We'll be there in about an hour."

* * *

Below him the tiny lift raft bobbed up and down, tossing violently about on the ocean, the water drenching the two passengers of the raft. Tony swallowed his fears and looked at the rescue team. They were not going to like what he was going to say, but he didn't care. He needed to get to Tim and fast before his partner drowned. "Lower me," Tony shouted over the roar of the propellers at the rescue team.

"Sir? You're not trained for that sir!" the commander shouted back, eyes wide.

Tony threw a glare at the man. He hadn't come all this way, out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to find his teammate, only to watch as another man was lowered down to retrieve him. _No way, Tim is my probie, not his. It's my job to rescue him!_ "Lower me!" he hissed, a dark look coming into his eyes. "I'm getting my partner out of that raft and on to this chopper whether you like it or not!"

Finally the crew gave in and hooked him up to a harness. They were instructing him on what to do and what was going to happen, but Tony barely heard as he stepped to the edge of the hatch on the chopper and tested the pull on his line. Closing his eyes very briefly, he stepped off the helicopter, into the rain. Slowly he was lowered down towards the life raft. Through the pouring rain he could make out the two lifeless forms of the men in the raft. His heart leapt into his throat. What if he was too late? What if Tim was already dead? He wasn't sure he could face the failure of not bringing Tim home...

He was lowered towards Tim first, the crew for filling his wish to get to his partner and bring him up to the chopper. Rocking violently in the harsh wind, getting drenched in the rain, Tony somehow gathered the strength he was going to need to haul Tim up. Gently he reached out and pulled his partner into his arms. Tim's eyes fluttered open, blinking the rain drops out of his eyes. He saw his lips form his name but no words came out. Tony helped Tim latch his arms around his neck and then he signaled for the crew to pull them up. Arms reached out and helped Tony to get Tim inside the chopper. His own arms ached from holding onto the younger man's dead weight so tightly.

Quickly the crew moved in and unhooked him from the harness, hooking up one of their own to go down and get the co-pilot. Tony helped Tim strap in, and gave his shoulder a gently shake. "Tim, you're going to be okay," he assured the other man. "We're going to get you back to the _Seahawk_ and get you medical attention."

"You can tell Ducky... those motion sickness pills didn't work," Tim muttered with a little smile on his face.

"Sure. He'll be happy to know," Tony said with a cheeky smile. "Hey probie?"

"Yeah, Tony?"

"Don't scare me like that ever again."

Tim smiled and nodded his head. His eyes slipped shut and he fell to sleep. Tony buckled in next to him and sat there, keeping a watchful eye over his partner and friend, realizing how dangerously close they had come to disaster and how narrowly they had avoided it.

* * *

Natalie navigated her way towards sickbay. After their transport had landed Gibbs had ordered her to check in on Tim while he went to check in with the Captain. She felt bad for the Captain having to deal with the wrath of Gibbs but after dealing with it all day she was glad someone else was about to get a taste of it.

She felt a tremendous amount of relief that both Tony and Tim were safely back on the aircraft carrier. If she knew Tony like she thought she did, he had fought his way onto that rescue team, and she wasn't surprised when they were informed that it was Tony that had insisted on hooking up to harness and retrieving Tim from the life raft. When things settled down she was going to chew Tony out for that... after she held him tightly...

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the young Corpsman asked her when she stepped into sickbay.

"I'm here to see Agent McGee," Natalie replied.

"Special Agent McGee is resting right now," the Corpsman said. "Are you NCIS, ma'am?"

Natalie was confused why the young man was asking that but she nodded her head.

The Corpsman sighed and gestured for her to follow him. "Maybe Agent DiNozzo will let you near Agent McGee then. Doctors were able to examine him and treat him, but Agent DiNozzo was hovering around them the entire time."

"Oh, sorry about that, Agent DiNozzo can be... protective."

"Yeah, protective, that's a good way to put it, ma'am."

Natalie stepped inside an ICU room where Tim was hooked up to medical equipment. Tony was sitting nearby, half-way between sleep and being awake. He instantly perked up when he heard the door slide open. She waited until it was closed to speak. "The Corpsman says you're being rather protective of Tim."

Tony scowled at her. He wasn't in the mood to be teased. What he really wanted was to sleep and to change into some dry clothes. "They're just angry because I was questioning everything they were doing. I just wanted to make sure Tim was properly being taken care of."

She glanced at Tim, peacefully asleep. "He looks better than you at the moment. Maybe you should take care of yourself, Tony."

He sighed and stood up, turning towards her. "Tim has mild hypothermia. Bruises from impact, cuts... I'm just tired. He needs more medical attention than myself."

"Tony, you're drenched," Natalie said, noticing his clothes. "Didn't you ask for dry clothes? You could get sick."

"I'll be fine," Tony snapped, glaring at her. "Again... Tim was more important than finding dry clothes."

Natalie stepped out into sickbay and ordered the Corspman to find some dry clothes for Tony. She noticed when she gave Tony's size that the young man's eyebrows shot up but she didn't care. She needed to get Tony out of those wet clothes before he got sick himself.

Tony glared at her when she came back into Tim's room. "You didn't need to do that," he said, even though he was suddenly aware that his teeth were chattering, violently. It was as if her presence had alerted him to the fact that he really was cold.

"You want to spend the rest of your time here on this ship freezing?"

"No. But I could have asked."

"So why didn't you?" Natalie inquired, honestly.

"Other priorities," Tony grumbled underneath his breath.

Natalie reached for his hands and pulled him towards her. His lips were cold underneath her warm ones, but he eagerly let her deepen their kiss. He then surprised her by gathering her tightly into his arms and silently crying. Recognizing his need to release all those pent up emotions from the last couple of hours, Natalie let him, and then realized that she needed him to hold her as much as he needed to hold her.

Tony let go of her when the Corpsman returned with some clothes for him. "Will you sit with Tim while I go change?" the senior field agent asked, his green eyes tired and worried. "I suppose I should go get my tongue lashing from Gibbs."

"You took charge and rescued Tim," Natalie pointed out. "I doubt Gibbs will give you a tongue lashing."

"I put my own life at risk, unnecessarily," Tony reminded her.

"Gibbs is the king of that. It would be hypocritical of him to chew you out for doing something _he_ would have done."

Tony moved towards her, kissed her cheek and left the room.

Natalie fell down into the chair previously occupied by Tony. So far, their year was off to one hell of a start.


	25. Confrontations and Complications

**A/N:** Halfway through the week. Hope everyone is well :) Enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think, I love chatting with you :)

 **Guest-** _I'm not sure of what you had in mind for addressing those things with Gibbs, but Tony's not happy in this chapter. I think a lot of it is going to carry on into the next chapter._

 **amaia-** _I couldn't kill Timmy :) I'm already_ _mourning that there will be no McNozzo next season so I can't let it go in my stories lol As for Gibbs, well, he's Gibbs, you'll see what happens :)_

* * *

Tony shoved his wet clothes into his backpack. _Seahawk's agent afloat could have handled interviews for us,_ he thought angrily. If Gibbs could see beyond the bridge of his nose... he wouldn't have sent the team out to the aircraft carrier in the first place.

Of course, the team leader was going to think he had done the right thing. And this pissed Tony off. If Tim had died on that flight, like the pilot, then Gibbs guilt and remorse would have shown up. Lately, it only seemed to show up after something bad had happened.

"Doctors ordered me back," Natalie's voice said behind him as she entered the tight space. "Tim was still sleeping when I left."

"Has Gibbs gone to check on him?" Tony asked, zipping his bag up.

"Last I heard he was interviewing Howard's shipmates," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bunk.

Tony snarled and tossed his backpack onto the floor. It made a loud clang when it connected with the bulkhead. "Bastard," he snapped. "This whole thing is his fault because he didn't want to follow proper channels. What if Tim had died out there? What if I had died out there? And then to drag you out here and put your life on the line... I doubt he would give a crap! In fact, I know he wouldn't!"

Natalie couldn't recall a time she had seen Tony this angry with Gibbs. She had seen this anger before and if she didn't calm Tony down things could get ugly. Very ugly. "Tony, you're tired. We're all tired..."

He turned on her, eyes filled with rage. "Is that your excuse? We're tired?"

She shied away from him, slightly afraid of him. "We don't make the best decisions when we're exhausted."

"Then Gibbs must be exhausted all the time!" Tony shouted, moving towards her. "Because lately he's made a string of bad decisions!"

"Do you have a problem with the way I lead, DiNozzo?" Gibbs questioned from the open door. "If so I can arrange for a transfer. Maybe back here to this ship."

Tony set his jaw. Gibbs knew how much the senior field agent had hated being assigned to the _Seahawk,_ of course Gibbs would think it was a fitting punishment for questioning the former marine's leadership skills. "At least out here I won't have to take unnecessary risks."

Gibbs stepped into the cabin and slammed the hatch shut. "We had a case to close."

"Yes, because finding someone that staged a crime scene was our upmost priority," Tony hissed. "It nearly cost Tim his life. And foolishly all three of us went along with it!"

"Following my orders is a part of your job!" Gibbs hollered.

"Even when they're going to get us killed?" the senior field agent threw back, hotly. "You knew it was a suicide before my flight took off; you could have had us wait."

Natalie's breath hitched. She had addressed that issue with Gibbs before Tony and Tim had left. It had been met with less than stellar results. In fact, Gibbs had threatened to fire her. What was he going to do Tony? It seemed like the SFA didn't care one bit what Gibbs was going to do to him.

Tony didn't wait for Gibbs to answer. He had a full head of steam now and there was no stopping him. "And, let's address the fact that you risked Natalie's life to fly out here during a rescue mission! Once again, disregarding the safety of yourself or others! I had everything under control! I was the one that got Tim! And I certainly could have picked up the investigation once things settled down around here! I didn't need you rushing out here to push me around!"

Gibbs was in his face suddenly. "Push you around? You think I came out here to push you around? I came out here to close _my_ investigation! Which is what _you_ should have been working on while the Navy searched for Tim!"

"Oh," Tony said with a harsh laugh, "Like you would have done that."

"You wanna take a swing at me, Tony? Is that what you want?" Gibbs challenged him.

For a moment, Tony thought about taking the bait and punching Gibbs in the face, but then something crashing against the bulkhead caught his attention. Both men turned to see that Natalie had taken the empty food tray from Tony's dinner earlier, before everything had become unraveled, and tossed it, furiously against the wall. "Stop it!" she screamed, hysterically. "Just stop this stupid, pigheaded, _measuring_ contest!"

Her outburst surprised both of them. Natalie, the usually calm and collected one, was in a rage. And she was not about to let Tony talk her out of it, because when he moved towards her, her nostrils flared and she shouted, "Don't you dare come near me! I've had enough of these petty, alpha male fights between all three of you! And if you touch me, _I'm_ going to be the one to punch you in the face!"

Tony backed off, deciding that it was best to give her space. Even Gibbs backed off. Natalie wasn't quite finished with them. "Is this how you want to start of the new year? By fighting with one another? Well, if that's the case, we're off to a great start! All we've been doing since this year started was fight! It needs to stop! It needs to stop now or this team is going to dissolve before your very eyes, Gibbs! That is, if you don't kill us first!"

Gibbs couldn't recall seeing her this way but her anger had suddenly deflated his ego. It had certainly shut Tony up.

"Ah... is this a bad time?" a voice said from the now open doorway. "If it is, Agent Gibbs, I can come back."

"No, we were just wrapping this up," Gibbs said turning towards the _Seahawk's_ agent afloat. "Do you need me?"

"Petty Officer Howard's best friend, the one that denied adamantly that he had nothing to do with the cover up—just confessed," the other agent replied.

Surprised, Gibbs moved away from Tony and Natalie, ordering them to stay where they were and rest. "What made him change his mind?" the lead agent asked.

Glancing at Tony, the agent afloat replied, "Seems that Agent DiNozzo's heroics in going out in that storm to save his best friend inspired him. I have him in my office. He'd like to speak to you."

Tony licked his lips. "Boss..."

Gibbs didn't look at him. "Not now. Rest. We'll talk later."

When the hatch closed this time, it didn't seem as loud as when Gibbs had shut it in anger. Tony stood there for a second, his fists pressed tightly to the navy blue sweatpants that the Corpsman had found for him. A thousand different thoughts began running through his head and then Natalie let out a sob.

"Nat," Tony said, spinning on his heel and reaching for her. He'd risk that punch in the face... "Stop crying," he hushed her, relieved that she allowed him to pull her close.

"I want to start this whole damn year over," Natalie sobbed, burying her face into his sweatshirt.

Tony rubbed her back and smiled. "I don't know, you chewing us out like that was pretty sexy. If we started the year over, that wouldn't happen. Let's face it... it needed to happen. You were right. All this fighting is petty and stupid. Not sure it's a measuring contest..."

Natalie scoffed and wrapped her arms around his waist, happy to be encased in his warmth. "Please. Everything is a measuring contest when it comes to you and Gibbs. It's amazing you haven't killed each other yet."

He chuckled and then gently leaned down to scoop her up. Carefully he carried her to the bunk and laid her down. Pulling the blanket around her, he kissed her forehead. "You heard the boss, rest."

She could no longer fight sleep. Her eyes began to slip shut. "What about you? He ordered you to rest as well."

"I'll be fine," Tony said, running his fingers through her hair. "There's a nice, hard, small sofa over there with my name on it that I can sleep on."

"You should take the bunk," Natalie mumbled as she finally fell asleep.

Tony smiled at her and went to the sofa. As he wedged his tall frame on the hard cushions, Tony decided to ignore the slight ache in his chest. He'd feel better once he slept, once he recharged his batteries. By the time he woke up he'd feel one hundred percent.

* * *

Forty-eight hours later, when their chopper landed at the air force base, Tony's lungs burned. But he was going to have to fight his way through it, because they had been given another case. _It wouldn't be the first time you've fought your way through a cold while working..._

As the team drove towards their next crime scene, Tony sat curled up in the backseat, his head against the cool glass. He just wanted to sleep, despite getting a lot of sleep on the aircraft carrier the last couple of days. There had been nothing else to do but sleep. He probably should have spoken up and gone home to rest, but Tim was on desk duty for the next week. Tony couldn't leave Natalie alone with Gibbs.

Gibbs had yet to talk to him about their spat on the ship, and he certainly wasn't going to do it until he felt he was ready. As for Natalie, Tony was afraid that she was in a bit of a fragile state since the start of the new year and wouldn't be able to handle Gibbs on her own...

Tony immediately thought that was a terrible excuse. Natalie was perfectly capable of handling Gibbs, he was just being the over-protective boyfriend and wanted to shield her from the wrath of their boss. Certainly she could handle Gibbs a few days while Tony got better.

Natalie was obviously concerned about him. She kept glancing at him from the front seat, her gray eyes studying him. He would smile whenever they made eye contact, hoping to assuage her fears.

"Let's go," Gibbs said as he parked the car. "Looks like Ducky and Palmer got a head start."

"They didn't come from an aircraft carrier," Tony pointed as the team got out of the car.

Cold air blasted him in the face and he was surprised how good it felt. Tony hadn't been aware that he was warm. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder he covered up a cough and followed Gibbs and Natalie towards the small house.

It seemed so far away but in reality it probably wasn't. Tony was just tired. Or he kept telling himself that he was tired... until the front yard started to sway and he collapsed, falling forward onto the hard ground. Immediately the air left his lungs and he struggled to breathe. The blue sky became black as Tony fought to stay conscious...

"Tony!" Natalie's voice cut through the fog. "Ducky! Ducky, come quick! He can't breathe!"

"Anthony," Ducky's voice commanded, "we're going to try giving you your inhaler."

His bag was pulled off of him and Natalie was dumping the contents on the front lawn. She found his inhaler. With the help of Ducky and Palmer, Tony was propped up. Natalie wedged the inhaler between his lips and pressed down onto it. Tony took gasping breaths, sucking in as much of the medicine that he could between the fits of coughing. It took almost the entire inhaler, but finally, Tony was able to breathe easily.

Natalie removed the inhaler carefully. Her eyes were panic stricken and Tony suspected that he looked about as grey as her irises. "Tony... you're burning up! You should be home resting, not working! Why didn't you tell us that you were sick?"

Tony coughed, not as violently as before, but still, it made it hard to speak. "I...didn't want...you to have...to deal with...Gibbs," he managed to rasp out, watching as her face clouded over with mild anger. "Just...just give me a moment to recover..."

"No! You're going home! Right now!" Natalie snapped.

"Actually, Natalie," Ducky interrupted. "Anthony is going to the ER so they can properly monitor his breathing. Let's not take any chances, shall we?"

"I'm going with him," she asserted.

"Callahan," Gibbs said, softly, "You need to stay here. We have a crime scene. Palmer can take Tony to the ER."

Natalie refused to leave Tony. She knew he hated hospitals. Palmer was a good friend but the medical examiner's assistant was not going to offer the comfort that Tony was going to need at the ER. "Why can't another team take this? Tony's sick because he's been run into the ground and then tossed into a rainstorm! We're burnt out, Gibbs! All of us!"

Gibbs saw Tony's eyes widen for a second at her blatant questioning of the team leader's authority. It seemed that the SFA was surprised his influence had rubbed off on her so much. "Fine. I'll call Vance and get another team assigned," he whispered, fully agreeing with her that perhaps, the team was burnt out and that they needed a break. "Stay here," he ordered, walking away.

Ducky looked at Natalie, pleasantly surprised. "Well done, my dear. I was expecting much more of a fight from Jethro."

Tony grinned at her, through a fevered gaze. "Don't mess with the Boston girl, Ducky."

"Yes, I can see that," Ducky said. "I hope you heed your own advice, Anthony."

"Everyday," Tony said as he reached for her hand and latched onto it.

"Let's get Anthony to the car, Mister Palmer," Ducky instructed. "Miss Callahan can drive him to the hospital. I suggest we take him to see Doctor Pitt."

Tony slowly was helped to his feet. Natalie and Palmer eased him towards the car and then helped him into the passenger seat. He had just enough strength to put his seat belt on while he waited for Natalie to get into the driver's seat.

Natalie quickly and quietly drove them to the hospital, concerned by Tony's apparent wheezing. She had known this was going to happen the moment she had found him soaking wet in Tim's room on the _Seahawks._ With Tony's past medical history, any cold could turn into serious issues, even a relapse of the plague; since he had let the cough go untreated for the last two days, there was a very real possibility that it could turn into something worse. All she could do now was pray that they weren't too late.


	26. Leave Time

**A/N:** Hello folks, sorry it took so long to update. Shorter update than usual, but the next chapters are probably going to be a tad longer than usual since I'm tackling "A Man Walks Into a Bar". Hope you enjoy this chapter until then :)

* * *

"Pneumonia?" Natalie gasped. "He's only been sick for two days! How could this cold have already turned into pneumonia?"

"His lungs are extensively scarred," Doctor Pitt informed her, "which makes him susceptible to lung diseases and infections. The good news is we're hitting him with a round of antibiotics and he's responding well to them."

 _Good news?_ Natalie thought, exasperated. Tony had nearly come close to suffocating thanks to the asthma attack triggered by the pneumonia. She didn't particularly share the doctor's viewpoint on Tony responding well to antibiotics good news... especially when he should never have been put into the position where he was going to have to go on them in the first place. "How long does he have to stay in the hospital?"

Pitt was aware of Tony's dislike of hospitals; he knew the moment Tony could, he'd check himself out. "At least overnight. I want to make sure he doesn't have another asthma attack and I'd like to monitor his progress on the medication, just in case I need to make some adjustments."

Natalie slumped against the wall. The New Year could not have gotten off of to a worse start, and what the hell was she going to tell Gibbs? "And how long is Tony going to be out of work?"

"I've recommended two weeks medical leave; hopefully he takes it this time," Pitt said.

"I'll make sure he does, Doctor Pitt," Natalie responded, softly.

"You know something, I bet he actually listens to you."

"Most of the time."

Pitt smiled, softly and nodded. "I'll be back to check on Tony later. I suggest that you go get something to eat, Agent Callahan. Let Tony sleep for a bit."

Natalie sighed and agreed to head down to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich. Now that she knew Tony was going to be okay, she was aware that she had a slight headache and that she was hungry. Peeking into Tony's room, she watched him sleep for a few seconds, and then headed towards the elevator.

If anyone had told her before the New Year that it was going to start with such a shake-up, she might have laughed. Life had been pretty good after Christmas. Perhaps that should have been a warning sign. The team had managed to dodge so many bullets in the last three days she wondered when their luck was going to run out. The team was like a cat... using up all their lives...

Natalie shook the bad vibes away and focused on finding something to eat. She quickly grabbed a chicken salad sandwich, a strawberry yogurt, and a bottle of water. Paying for her items, she went back up to Tony's room to eat them. She wanted to be there incase he woke up. He wasn't going to be happy about having to stay overnight. She hoped that by promising him she'd stay as well, it would calm his nerves.

Back in Tony's hospital room, the senior field agent was still sound asleep. Natalie found the chair next to his bed and sat down, placing her lunch in her lap. Reaching out, she pushed his hair back. His skin was still a bit clammy to the touch, but his temperature was visibly going down. Taking a deep breath, she continued to run her fingers through Tony's hair. "What am I going to do with you, Tony?" she whispered.

"Spring me from the hospital?" Tony cracked, opening his eyes halfway to look at her.

"Sorry. Doctor Pitt wants you to stay here for the night," Natalie replied. "You should be sleeping."

Tony coughed slightly. It was already noticeable that the medication was working... "Slept enough," he told her.

Natalie frowned at him. "Anthony, you have pneumonia. You need to rest; relax."

"If I relaxed anymore than I am now, I'd be dead."

"Don't joke like that, Tony."

He coughed again. It didn't take a medical degree to know that he had come very close to dying that morning. Tony had almost suffocated thanks to his fragile lungs and asthma. Seeing the pained expression in Natalie's eyes broke his heart. "I'm sorry... you're right... I shouldn't be joking about that."

She looked at the food in her lap. "It was terrifying, Tony, watching you struggle to breath like that. I thought... for a few frightening seconds I thought you were going to die."

Tony found her hand and grabbed it. He was thankful that she hadn't been around to see him with his brush with the Plague... that had even managed to tear down Kate's walls... "Next time, I'll make sure not to go searching for my probie in the rain."

Natalie smiled, sadly, and shook her head. "We both know that if you ever have to go searching for Tim, or even me, again, you'll do it. It wouldn't matter what kind of risks come with it. That's just who you are, Tony."

"Mmmm," he mumbled, his eyes slipping shut, "I'd search the ends of the Earth for you..."

"I don't plan on running or leaving," she told him, stroking his cheek.

"Good. So you'll be here when I wake up?"

"Yes, I'll be here when you wake up."

Tony fell asleep with a slight smile on his face. Natalie gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, and before eating her lunch, whispered, "I'd search the ends of the Earth for you too."

* * *

Gibbs heard his front door open. Looking up from his dining table, he watched as Ducky stepped inside. "Hey, Duck."

Ducky sat down at the table with him with a heavy sigh. "I wish I was coming over with better news, Jethro. I spoke to Bradley over the phone. Anthony has pneumonia. He's going to be bedridden for two weeks while he recovers. We don't want to chance it..."

"Vance agreed to give the team two weeks leave," Gibbs replied, sipping his beer. "They deserve it after what I put them through."

"Hmmm, yes, I've been wondering about that, Jethro," Ducky said, raising an eyebrow. "You risked your entire team for nothing. Why?"

He had been trying to answer that question since Tony had ripped into him on the _Seahawk._ Gibbs had yet to come up with an answer, or at least a good answer. "I was an idiot, Ducky. Plain and simple."

The medical examiner sighed and asked for a cup of tea. While Gibbs got up to prepare it, Ducky quipped, "Sometimes, Jethro, you cannot look past the bridge of your nose. In some instances, it is a good quality to have... in others, not so much."

Gibbs put the teakettle on the stove and found the tea leaves Ducky kept at his place in the cupboard. "I pushed them too hard this time. Tony had every right to get angry with me—and that was before he got pneumonia."

"Bradley had a good prognosis for Anthony," Ducky pointed out. "Provided he takes the time to care for himself."

"I'll leave that battle to Natalie," Gibbs said bring the hot water and tea leaves to Ducky. "He responds to her."

Ducky chuckled as he fixed his tea. "Well, yes, Anthony has always responded better to beautiful women than to your or I."

Gibbs laughed and finished his beer. Natalie had her work cut out for her making sure that Tony took the full medical leave given to him... but Gibbs trusted she could do it.

* * *

After being released from the hospital, Tony was spending his days sleeping on his sofa watching his favorite movies. Natalie kept herself busy and entertained by scrubbing his place top to bottom. She wanted to make sure that all the germs were gone so Tony didn't get sicker. And when she wasn't cleaning, she was making sure that Tony ate, took his medicine, and drank plenty of fluids.

Tony was slowly starting to feel better as the days went on, and if he was honest, he was okay being taken care. It was something new for him but it was nice to know that she would be there for him even when he wasn't at his best. He told her so one afternoon when she brought him a bowl of homemade chicken soup. "You know... you're the first woman, besides my mother, that has taken care of me when I'm sick. I... rather like it."

"I find it hard to believe that Abby has never volunteered," Natalie said, fluffing his pillows and then helping him sit up.

"Nope," Tony said, honestly. "She'd bring food by and make sure I was comfortable, but I made sure she never stayed."

"We've had this discussion before—it's okay to let someone take care of you," she said, softly. "It doesn't make you weak."

"I know that _now,_ " he argued, playfully. "You were the first partner to show me that it was okay. And by partner I mean in both senses—work and play."

Natalie thought about this for a moment. She had never met any of his previous partners, with the exception of Ziva, it was slightly heart breaking to think that Tony had lived so long relying solely on himself. "I didn't know Kate, but from what you told me, Tony—she never saw you as weak. Irritating maybe," she said with a smile, "but not weak."

Tony carefully ate his soup. He wished that Kate had been around to meet Natalie—they would have hit it off, become two peas in a pod—which probably wouldn't have gone well for him... "Next time your parents come to town, remind me to thank your mom that she taught you how to cook."

She laughed and tucked a blanket around his feet. "Actually... you'll have to thank my grandmother. She was the one that taught me how to cook. Both my parents worked, my grandmother was the one to take care of us after school."

He smiled, softly. Hearing about her normal childhood strangely comforted him. It gave him hope that perhaps, someday, they could give a child a normal upbringing. "Well, she did a great job."

"She had her own catering business. We would help her pack the food and deliver it," Natalie recalled, fondly. "Some days, I really do miss Boston."

"Nothing set in stone that our future has to be here," Tony informed her.

"You'd be willing to move to Boston?"

"If we got married and wanted to have kids—yes. My dad is in rehab, your family is sane; no brainer."

Natalie took his soup bowl from him and planted a kiss on the top of his head. "Aw, you think my family is sane," she said, giggling.

Tony tossed her a broad grin. "They're saner than mine," he said.

"Do you think you can take care of yourself for an hour or two?"

"I think I can manage. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take the rest of this soup over to Tim," Natalie said, holding up a plastic container. "And see if he needs anything."

"He has a girlfriend now," Tony reminded her. "Why can't she take care of him?"

Natalie slipped into her coat. "She's out of town on business. She couldn't reschedule it. I promised her I'd keep an eye on Tim."

Tony frowned. "You know I hate to share...especially you."

"Stop being a big baby," she said, going to give him a quick kiss. "Put on another movie and by the time it's over, I'll be home."

"Home?" he questioned, smiling. "You think of this as home?"

She stopped with her hand on the door. Natalie swallowed, anxiously and turned to face him with wide eyes. "Does that...does that bother you?"

He continued to smile and shook his head. "No. You spend enough time here to think of it as home."

"I think those are the antibiotics talking," she said as she stepped out into the hall. "Be back in an hour."

Tony waited until he heard the door click and then he glanced at Kate, swimming happily around in her bowl. "What do you think, Kate? Are we ready for a new roommate?" he asked, then chuckled, "You might not like Luna too much. But I think... I think it's time. I think I should ask Natalie to move in with me."

Asking Natalie to move in was just the natural progression of their relationship and there was no better time than the present to take that step.

* * *

 _Dr. Cranston will be arriving in the next few installments. What changes do you think she brings about to the team?_


	27. Secrets

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Freedom"

 **A/N:** I know I said Dr. Cranston was coming but I felt that this episode fit into the storyline. Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

As the weeks went by and the team returned to work, Tony had not worked up the courage to ask Natalie to move in with him. Because, the more he looked around his apartment, the more he realized it would still be _his_ apartment...

In his spare time, which was sparse, Tony had been looking into finding a place that could be _theirs_ ; one that they could perhaps someday start and raise a family. For the most part Natalie was unaware of his plans. He didn't want to ask her until he knew for sure he had found the perfect place and finding that place was proving to be difficult and eating up at their time together. He'd made up so many lies as to why he couldn't see her at night in the last few weeks Tony was surprised that she didn't accuse of him having an affair.

To top it off, Tim was in a grumpy mood the last couple of days. So, it was no surprise one morning when Tim cornered him in the elevator and complained that he had not answered his cell phone the night before. "Rule three, Tony. Whatever happened to rule three?"

Refraining from rolling his eyes, Tony sighed, "It was after hours, McGee. There's no contract saying that I have to answer my phone after hours."

"It was rude," Tim snapped as the two stepped off the elevator. Natalie immediately glanced up from her desk. "I called you four times!"

"Well, there's two things wrong with that statement," Tony snarked, heading for his desk. "One, we're not dating, and two, you know that I don't take calls from anyone, especially you, after seven. You must have forgotten—I have a girlfriend."

Natalie interjected then, "A girlfriend that you didn't spend last night with, one that you told you were too busy to see."

Tony pursed his lips when he saw a dark look creep into Tim's eyes. "It was a general statement, not just about last night. And yes, I was busy!"

"I have a girlfriend, too. Remember? And what's your point?" Tim threw at him, angrily.

"He doesn't have a point," Natalie said, smiling, "He's just trying to get under your skin, Tim."

"Well, it's working," the junior agent snapped. "He's buried about six inches underneath it right now."

Tony slipped his gear off and put it by his desk. He sat down. "My point is, that you were leaving me messages, evidently, about a case file."

Tim glared at his partner. "Yes, one that I need you to sign."

"Which could have waited until this morning. Here, give it to me," Tony beckoned with his hand. Tim handed the file over and Tony opened it. "Here I am, signing it... John Hancock—" he saw Tim's jaw clench and he grinned, "Just kidding." He handed the file back to Tim. "There. Done. Signed, Anthony DiNozzo."

"You make my job miserable some days," Tim grumbled, snatching the file away and storming towards his desk.

Natalie pouted at Tony. "I don't like it when you guys are fighting."

Tony shrugged. "Not my fault. He's sensitive today."

Tim clenched his fists and glared. "I'm not sensitive."

"Quit squabbling," Gibbs snapped, entering the bullpen, "and grab your gear. Dead marine in Springfield, let's go."

In a flash the three agents had gathered their gear, dashed towards the elevator, and forgotten about any conversation they were just having. They had a case to solve; petty fights had no place in the bullpen.

* * *

Lying in the middle of what was probably a beautiful garden in the spring, was the body of Marine Sergeant Travis Wooten. His dog had been the one to find the body and then lead the dog walker to it. NCIS had been called in almost immediately.

Tony pulled his gray scarf around his neck to ward off the chill in the air and reported, "Thirty five years old, married, with a six year old son. His wife, Gunnery Sergeant Georgia Wooten, thirty two, talked to the dog walker last night around eleven."

"Does the dog walker know where the wife is now?" Gibbs asked.

"No," Tony said. "She hasn't heard from Gunnery Sergeant Wooten since last night."

"Check in with Callahan," Gibbs ordered him. "See what she's uncovered inside."

"On it boss," Tony said, turning on his heel as Ducky and Jimmy arrived. He headed back inside the house.

Natalie was in the kitchen cataloging evidence she had taken from the home. Her hair was pulled back into a braid and she had her back to him. Tony smiled and went to flick her braid playfully. She reached behind her to tug it close to her neck. "Can I help you with something, Tony?"

Tony chuckled and leaned against the counter. "Perhaps. Gibbs was wondering if the most beautiful probationary agent in the world had found anything interesting in the house."

She eyed him, incredulously. "I highly doubt Gibbs called me the most beautiful probationary agent in the world."

He laughed, softly. "Okay, so he didn't use those exact words. I embellished the story just a little."

Natalie held up a blood sample. "I found this in the bedroom. The bathtub is still full of water and there are three full plates of food. Someone left this house in a hurry."

Tony continued to play with the end of her braid. "Or... they were forced to leave."

"Do you think that Gunny Wooten and her son are in danger?"

"Not ruling it out yet."

"I hate when kids are involved," she sighed, sadly.

"I know," he whispered, leaning closer to her and placing a feather like kiss on her temple. "Let's not think the worst just yet. Maybe Gunny Wooten and her son are fine."

Eyes traveling to the chest of toys in the living room, Natalie shook her head a little, to clear her thoughts. "I'm not liking this... pit in my stomach that this case is giving me right now, Tony. Something just doesn't feel... right."

He trusted her gut about as much as he trusted his own. Truth was Tony had been feeling bad vibes the moment they pulled up to this house. Everything on the outside seemed perfect—too perfect. "We'll get to the bottom of this," he assured her.

She finished tagging the evidence she had gathered and carefully placed the plastic bags into an evidence box. "If we get to the bottom of this case by tonight... do you think you'll be free to spend the evening with your girlfriend? Feels like you haven't had much time for me lately."

Tony stepped back, letting go of her braid, and took a deep breath. "Being sick for those two weeks... I had a lot of stuff to catch up on."

Natalie looked at him, skeptically. "Really? I did your laundry and cleaned your apartment for you. What other things did you need to catch up on?"

"Just some things around the apartment," Tony lied. "I promise, I'll make it up to you."

"You said that to me three days ago," Natalie pointed out with a heavy sigh. "Is something bothering you? Are we having problems that I'm not aware of?"

"Hey," Tim said, coming through the back door and interrupting their conversation. "We're almost done outside. How's it going in here?"

"All done," Natalie reported, holding the box up. "I was just going to go put this on the truck."

Tony winced at the icy tone to her voice. Keeping his plans to ask her to move in with him was coming at a cost. She was starting to feel like she didn't matter to him... and that was threatening. He was going to have to make some time for her in the coming days or there wouldn't be a relationship between them to take the next step.

Tim looked at him, pensively. "Everything okay between you guys?" he asked honestly, having noticed Natalie's icy treatment of Tony. _Come to think of it, when was the last time Tony and Natalie arrived to work together?_

"Yeah... we're fine," Tony said, smiling. "I've been busy planning my Valentine's surprise for her."

"Why don't you just tell her that?" Tim interjected.

"Now, where's the fun in that? I want it to be a surprise—a big surprise."

"Even if she's pissed off at you by the time you get there?"

Tony grinned. "Especially if she's pissed off at me. Makes the surprise that much better."

Tim shook his head a little. He would never understand Tony's dating style—but it seemed to working with Natalie so, who was he to butt in? Besides, the team had a case that needed to be solved and Tim couldn't be spending his time worrying about his partners' relationship. He followed Natalie outside to the truck and put his gear away.

Natalie was finishing up with the evidence and he noticed that she angrily swiped the back of her hand underneath her nose. Obviously, Tony distancing himself from her to prepare this _surprise_ was having a negative effect on her. "Evidence is all set," she whispered when she realized that Tim had joined her. "I was going to see if I could contact some of the Wootens' neighbors, see if they have any information on her whereabouts."

"Sounds like a good idea," Tim said. "Old lady across the street has been watching us since we arrived."

"I'll go talk to her," Natalie volunteered, briskly walking across the street.

 _Boy Tony, when you screw up, you screw up,_ Tim thought as he watched Natalie scale the steps of the front porch across the street. He could sense that things weren't just about to get heated on this case—they were about to get heated between his partners too.

* * *

Perhaps, keeping things a secret from Natalie wasn't paying off. She was clearly upset by him being too "busy" to see her for the last few nights. Tony knew he was to blame for this but he wanted the reveal of his desire for her to move in with him to be a big surprise. _You win some, you lose some._

Tony shut the Charger down in front of the pool hall that Travis Wooten had last been seen at alive, and ran his tongue over his lips. It had been an incredibly quiet and painful ride over to Feeney's Billiards. "So, judging by your silence... I'd guess you're mad at me," he whispered to his partner.

"I would say that's a pretty good guess," Natalie said, softly. "Surprised you noticed since you've been so _busy._ "

"I promise... I'm going to make it up to you," Tony assured her.

Natalie sighed, heavily and got out of the Charger. She didn't feel like arguing with him. It would just put her in a fouler mood and they had work to do. Gibbs wouldn't appreciate someone sulking around the bullpen more than he usually did. Pushing the door open of the pool hall open, she stepped inside. It was dark in the room. Large, up to date, flat screen televisions lined the walls, pool tables sat underneath dim, low hanging lights, and a cherry wood bar ran the length of the back wall. Definitely a pool hall...

Tony stepped up to one of the tables and smiled, fondly. He racked the balls up. "You know, I was the pool champion at my old precinct in Baltimore back in the late 90's. The guys and I would go down there to unwind after a tough case."

She looked around the bar for any signs of the owner. "The wives and girlfriends must have loved that."

He glowered, a little. "Actually, Wendy was pretty good at pool. Bet none of your exes knew their way around a pool table."

"Anthony, you don't wear jealousy very well."

"Jealous? Me? Call your ex up, I bet I can school them at pool."

Natalie's eyes clouded over for a second. Tony tensed, afraid he'd misspoken, and then it dawned on him—they talked about Wendy, they talked about Jeanne... they never talked about her ex. He wasn't even sure he knew the name of the guy...

Tony took one step closer to her, leaving the pool table behind. "Sorry... you don't have to call your ex boyfriend just so I can show him up at pool." He reached for her limp hand and gave it a squeeze, subsequently bringing her back to life so to speak. "Pretty sure I won anyways—I have you."

She took a deep breath and stepped away from him. "There's no competition, Tony."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Does that mean I'm better in bed?"

"I can't believe you would ask that question."

"Well? Am I?"

"Are you afraid that I'm going to say _no, he was better but I'm with you despite of that?_ "

"Hey! This is a very important issue! For guys especially!"

Behind them a man chuckled. "Oh, I know a bickering couple when I hear one," he said, holding his hand out to the two agents. "Len Feeney. I own the place."

Tony shook his hand. "Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. This is my partner, Special Agent Natalie Callahan."

Natalie added, "And we're not bickering."

Feeney chuckled again. "What can I help you with?"

"We need to ask you some questions about one of your customers," Natalie replied. "Travis Wooten."

"Yes, Travis is one of my regulars," Feeney said. "Did something happen to him?"

"He's dead," Tony answered, coldly. "Was he here last night?"

Feeney looked slightly surprised at his news. "Oh. Yeah... I saw him last night."

Natalie glanced at Tony, briefly. "Did anything out of the ordinary happen last night?"

"He came in at his usual time, sat in his usual spot..." Feeney answered.

"Practically his second home, huh?" Tony inquired.

"Well, it is for a lot of service people. That's the way I want it—a comfortable place for them to come hang out," Feeney replied. "I served in the first Iraq war, I know the challenges our men and women face when they get home. Travis was no different."

Tony shoved his hands into his pockets. He was no stranger to PTSD. He suffered from it himself, he had watched Natalie struggle with it. "Were the challenges getting to Travis?" he asked.

Feeney shook his head. "If they were, he never let them show. He was always in here cracking jokes, laughing... he had a lot of friends around here."

Natalie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Did any of those friends have a problem with Sergeant Wooten?"

"No, the only one he had a problem with was his lady."

"His lady? You mean his wife?"

"As far as I knew—they were divorced. He had a girlfriend, though. She was a real piece of work," Feeney said. "And she loved to make a scene, always yelling at him."

"And she was here last night?" Tony asked.

Feeney frowned. "Clung to him like a wet rag."

Tony chuckled. "Does 'wet rag' have a name?"

"Jancey Gilroy."

Natalie texted the name to McGee, the two agents thanked Feeney for his time, and then exited the pool hall. Quietly she slipped her phone back into her pocket and hesitated before getting into the car.

Tony noticed she wasn't walking with him and stopped, turning to look at her. He noticed that clouded look in her eyes, the same one when he had mentioned calling her ex up and challenging him to a pool game.

She looked away, the wind blowing her hair back into her face. "I'm sorry I got mad at you."

He stepped towards her, gently reaching for her. "It's fine. I've kind of given you a reason to be mad at me."

Pulling back, Natalie opened the door to the car. She wiped her hand over her eyes and climbed in. Tony was suddenly concerned. This case was bugging her for whatever reason, or at least, he hoped it was the case bugging her...

Sighing, Tony moved towards the driver's side of their Charger and got into the car. Slamming the door shut, he glanced at her briefly before starting the vehicle up and heading back towards the Navy Yard.


	28. Worth

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Freedom", mentions of domestic violence

 **A/N:** Sorry this took so long to update. I'm in the process of switching over to a new laptop. Thanks for being patient :)

 **amaia-** _Writing McNozzo has helped me a lot in processing and coping with MW leaving the show. It's rather therapeutic lol. Which means, once his last episode airs there will probably be lots and lots of McNozzo friendship._

* * *

Natalie wedged herself into the quiet nook, laptop on her lap, mindset on working on a profile of the Wootens' home life. The more levels they pealed back in Travis and Georgia's lives, the more concerned all four of them were getting that Georgia was being abused by her husband. It was probably the whole reason that Tony believed she killed Travis and ran.

She had seen a lot of these cases back in Boston and each one had deeply affected her, even before she had been torn down by a boyfriend. This case was no different but it seemed to be bothering her more than usual. Perhaps, that had something to do with Tony's odd behavior the last couple of weeks. Tim insisted that everything was fine and that she shouldn't worry about Tony's aloofness in the last few weeks, but she couldn't help but worry. She wondered if she had suffocated him while she had been nursing him back to health—sometimes she wondered if she was too intense. Other times she wondered if she just wasn't enough...

Blinking back some sudden tears, Natalie opened her computer and pulled up her files. She had to focus on writing this profile. With Georgia's medical files spread out before her, painting a picture of the Wootens' life wasn't that hard. When Natalie finished, it was a gruesome, rather grim tale, one that had been told over and over again. Shutting her laptop down, she crawled out of her favorite nook and headed towards the elevator through autopsy.

"Oh, Natalie, I didn't realize you were down here, my dear," Ducky said when she emerged.

"Needed a quiet place to write a profile," Natalie said, honestly. She looked at the partially covered body on the table. "The quiet helps me get into Mr. Wooten's head a little."

Ducky chuckled and handed her a file folder. "And I need the idle chit-chat to get inside our victim's state of mind when he died. Here is the report for Jethro. I do hope that he does not give you a hard time for how _late_ it is."

Grasping the folder in her hand, Natalie smiled, softly. "He very rarely gives me a hard time; if Tony or Tim gave this to him, well, different story."

"Jethro does have a soft spot for women," Ducky pointed out.

"Especially ones that remind him of his daughter," Natalie stated, rather than questioned.

"You, my dear, are an excellent profiler."

"I wouldn't say that I'm excellent."

Ducky noted the hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Is something bothering you, Natalie?"

Natalie chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Guess it's this entire case. Even with all my training and education, I still do not understand why a woman _stays._ " _Why did I let him continue to belittle me and stay myself?_

Behind her the doors slid open, interrupting their conversation before Ducky could answer her. Tony entered the room and immediately his eyes found her, searching her face for any signs of what was bothering her. "Gibbs wants you to watch the conference room video feed."

"Why?"

"Georgia Wooten just showed up. State police located her. Something is off."

Ducky reached out and pat Natalie gently on the hand. "Perhaps, we do not need to understand why a woman stays, but need to understand why she leaves."

Natalie let his words sink in as Tony directed her towards the elevator. Her mind was elsewhere as she pondered Ducky's comment and it surprised her when the the elevator stopped, went dark, and Tony's hand slipped into her own, pulling her closer to him.

Tony dipped his head towards hers and kissed her, lovingly, tenderly. He felt her body shift and press closer to him, seeking his physical presence to comfort her. Her breath hitched as her lips left his and she buried her face against his chest.

She felt his warmth spread through her. She would never fully understand why his physical presence comforted her so much, but she had learned a while ago not to question it. "This case..."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, laptop, autopsy report and all. Tony kissed her temple and whispered, "If she did it… she doesn't have to go to jail."

"I know, battered woman's syndrome…"

"I would _never_ hurt you like that, Natalie."

Natalie sighed, inhaling his sent. "Tony, I know; not once have I ever worried about you hurting me like that."

Tony kissed her temple once again. His father had never raised a hand to his mother, even when her manic rages caused her to physically lash out at Senior—and Tony, in all his messed up relationships, had never once raised a hand to a woman. It was just something that he believed a man shouldn't do. "I love you, it's my job to take care of you, keep you safe—not hurt you."

"Ok, that's rather old fashion of you," she teased, pulling back and giving him a sad smile.

"Mmmm, but not so old fashion that I'm controlling you," he said, seriously.

Natalie thought about her profile of the Wooten family, the fear, the controlling, the beatings—realizing that a highly trained Marine, like Georgia Wooten, could fall into such a relationship had certainly shaken the young federal agent. Could she get trapped in a situation like that? _Not with Tony. He's your greatest protector…_

Tony watched as the deep lines of worry on her face vanished. Her entire posture changed, quite different from that morning when she had been stiff—and he had been sure that it wasn't just because she was angry at him. Looking into her file had revealed nothing and her silence about her ex-boyfriend had him worried that, perhaps, she had been a victim…

Just thinking about that made him sick to his stomach. Tony didn't want to think of her as having to cower in fear. Gently he reached out and played with a strand of her hair. "If someone abused you, in the past, you'd tell me right, Natalie?"

Her eyes expressed so many different emotions. She moved closer to him and he took the hint, pulling her back into his arms. "No one ever _physically_ abused me."

"Verbally?"

"Yes, verbally, emotionally. One reason I left Boston…"

Tony kissed the top of her head. His heart broke. He knew what it was like to be physically, emotionally, and verbally abused by someone that he loved—his parents. "Your ex-boyfriend? Is that why you don't talk about him?"

Natalie pushed tears back as the memories flooded her. "Yes," she whispered. "It hurt…it still hurts too much."

His phone buzzed. Tony pulled back, stroking her cheek lovingly, and flipped the switch for the elevator to get it moving again. He watched as Natalie wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped off the elevator like nothing was bothering her. Tony watched as she disappeared into MTAC to watch the video feed from the conference room.

Knowing that her past relationship had been just as bad as his, Tony discovered that he was even more determined to find a place for them to just start a new life together and put the past behind them for good.

* * *

After observing Georgia Wooten's odd behavior all day, Gibbs had sent the team home when he noticed that they were running around in circles. Every suspect on this case had an alibi, with the exception of Mrs. Wooten…

Natalie hung back for a while. Gibbs would be lying if he said he had not noticed her reserved attitude that day. At first the team leader thought it might be something to do with Tony, but after spending the afternoon with the young woman in MTAC and then interviewing Georgia, Gibbs came to the conclusion that Tony wasn't the problem at all.

"I told you to go home, Callahan," Gibbs reminded her.

"I have a lot of paperwork to finish up," Natalie replied, softly.

Gibbs sighed and rose from his desk. He moved towards her and sat on the edge of her desk. "I called your mother today."

Natalie looked up at him, surprised. "Why?"

"Tony was worried about you; I'm worried about you," Gibbs said. "You seem to be deeply affected by domestic violence cases. Your mother agreed with me."

"Domestic violence cases are different when you're a woman, Gibbs," Natalie said, defensively. "They make you wonder if it can happen to you."

"Exactly what your mother told me."

"What else did she tell you?"

Gibbs' eyes softened. "She told me that when the time was right you would tell me—but she assured me that you're in a much better, safer place now than you ever were in Boston. Which, surprised me since she wanted you to come home a few months ago."

Natalie looked away so he could see her tears. "She's a mom. She needed to see that I was in a much better place than Boston. After visiting, she told me that she felt better knowing I was surrounded by good people."

He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Go home to one of those good people, Natalie."

She looked over at Tony's empty desk. Suddenly exhausted, she closed her computer down and reached for her jacket. Shutting her light off she looked at Gibbs for a moment. "I thought he was pulling away from me…"

"He doesn't want you to know he's planning some kind of surprise for Valentine's Day," Gibbs said with a laugh. "Don't tell him I told you…"

"I won't," Natalie said, grabbing her backpack. "Thanks, Gibbs." She moved out from behind her desk towards the elevator. The team leader was right, she needed to go home to one of those good people.

* * *

Tony was in the middle of making dinner when he heard the door to the apartment open. Wiping his hands on a nearby towel, he stepped into the living room and watched as Natalie closed the door behind her. "Hey," he said, gently, "I thought you were going to burn the midnight oil at the office tonight."

Natalie put her bag down and took her jacket off. She hung it up on the closet. "Gibbs kicked me out. He said I needed to go home."

"Smart man," Tony quipped with a smile. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Oh, what are you making me?" Natalie inquired, grinning.

"Your favorite homemade pizza."

"Aw, you spoil me—you should stop."

Tony chuckled and reached for her. He kissed her cheek and whispered, "I like to spoil you."

Natalie smiled and nestled into his embrace. "I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier today."

He stroked her arms. "We already talked about this…"

She sighed. "I know. I feel bad…"

"Gibbs told you I was planning a surprise didn't he?"

"How…how do you know that?"

Tony chuckled. "McGee always says that I know Gibbs better than anyone."

Natalie grasped his hands and squeezed them tightly. "It won't ruin anything for me, promise."

"Actually," Tony said, pulling away. He went to the shelves behind the television and grabbed a small red box. "Since you seemed a little down today, I decided I was going to go ahead and give you my surprise now."

"You don't have to do this," Natalie informed him. "Getting to have dinner with you and spend tonight with you is a big enough pick-me-up."

He glared at her playfully. "Natalie. Open it."

She relented and carefully took the top of the box off. Inside a gold key rested on some cotton battening. Confused, she looked at him. "I don't understand… I… I already have a key to your place."

Tony nodded and the corners of his mouth pulled into a cheeky grin. "I know. But that's not a key to my apartment… that's a key to _our_ townhouse."

Natalie blinked and stared at the key. "Our townhouse?"

"Yes, I want us to live together," Tony said, honestly, "But I wanted us to have our own place, not one that was originally yours or mine. I think you're going to love this place. At least, I hope you love it—I put an offer in, just waiting to hear back from my real estate agent."

"Is that where you've been disappearing too?" Natalie questioned, feeling even more tears springing into her eyes. "I really was worried over nothing."

Tony laughed and took the box from her. "Yeah. I was hoping to have the place by Valentine's Day, but it seemed like a good idea after today to bring you on board. Now, you can sign the papers too and it can truly be ours."

Natalie threw her arms around him, pulling him close and hugged him tightly. "I can't wait to tell Luna we're moving in!"

He laughed again and hugged her back. "And to think I was worried you'd say _no._ Of course, I'm a little worried how Luna and Kate are going to get along."

She sighed and pressed a soft kiss to his chest. "Don't worry. We can get Kate a fancy new tank to keep Luna out."

"So, we're going to do it—we're going to move in together?" Tony asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Natalie replied. "Yes, we're moving in together."

Tony closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair. He felt a great weight lift off his shoulders, happiness wash through him because it was apparent Natalie was on the same page in the relationship was he was. He never considered his apartment a home until she came into his life. She was _home._ And now they just needed a physical space that _they_ could call home.

* * *

"McGee just called," Natalie said the next morning when Tony emerged from the bedroom dressed for work. "Gibbs wants me to go talk to Georgia."

"How do you feel about that?" Tony questioned, fixing his cuffs. "She might be more willing to speak to a woman…especially a woman that understands what she went through."

Natalie shook her head. "I don't understand what she went through, Tony. I might have been oppressed emotionally, torn down verbally, but I was never physically threatened. Maybe I just got out of the relationship before it got to that point."

Tony clenched his jaw. He didn't even know the guy's name and he wanted to beat the crap out of him for what he'd done to Natalie. "What do you think would have happened if you had stayed, Natalie? He would have gotten violent. He might not have hit you, but psychologically he had the same effect on you as Travis Wooten had on Georgia."

"He made me feel worthless," she whispered, her chin tucking against her chest.

"You are not worthless," he assured her.

"When you hear demeaning things everyday you start to feel that way."

"I know. You've met my father."

Natalie ran her tongue over her lips and raised her chin, her sad, grey eyes locking with his. She swallowed the bile in her throat. "When I came to D.C last year I had already resigned from the Boston force; I'd already made up my mind that I had to get out of Boston and start over. I just didn't know where I was going… until you and Gibbs and Tim made me feel like I was worth something again."

Tony stepped closer to her, wiped the tears that had escaped her eyes, and pressed a soft, tender kiss to her lips. He then wrapped her safely into his arms. "We all love you, Nat, in our own ways… you are definitely worth something to us. You know I think you're the strongest person I know… show that to Georgia… show her that she's her own person, that she can be her own person again."

"Guess I better get going," Natalie said, pulling away from him. She handed him a travel mug filled with coffee. "Oh, I left Tim's spare key that you used for your _gift_ last night by your wallet."

"We wouldn't want to lose that," Tony quipped, grinning as he took a sip of his coffee. "If we did, we wouldn't be able to just pop in on him like we did on New Year's Eve."

"Something tells me he requested that the locks be changed on the building after that night."

"Nah, he loved every minute of our visit."

She rolled her eyes and slipped into her coat. "I'll see you at the office."

He wished he could go with her, but this was something that had to be done with just Natalie. "I love you."

"I know," Natalie said, with a sad smile, "I've always known."


	29. Fixer Upper

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Freedom"

 **A/N:** Hope I'm not boring you lol, I know these stand alone case episodes are not as exciting as the larger arcs. I like to sprinkle these cases into the story because they allow for more character development than the larger arcs do. **Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to leave feedback, favorite or follow; it's very appreciated :)** Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Tony was startled when Tim accosted him at the elevator as he arrived to work. He was almost taken off his feet as Tim shoved him back into the cab. "Hey!" he shouted, almost spilling his coffee that Natalie had carefully prepared for him. "What gives McPushy?"

Tim glowered at the senior field agent and hit the emergency switch, shutting the elevator down. "A woman called looking for you, named Veronica. She wanted to know if you could meet for coffee. Are you cheating on Natalie? Is that why you're dodging her? Was all that crap about a Valentine's surprise for her just to throw me off?"

"Oh, Probie," Tony sighed with a sad smile.

"Don't _oh, Probie me_ ," Tim snapped. "If you're cheating on her, we're going to have a serious problem."

Tony reached out and put a hand on Tim's shoulder. "Timothy. Stop with the protective brother act… I am not cheating on Natalie. Veronica is my real estate agent—I put an offer in on a townhouse in Silver Springs. Natalie and I are moving in together… keep it down though, Vance might be okay with us dating but I'm not sure he'll be okay with us co-habitating."

Tim blinked, in surprise. Of all the things Tony could have said to him—or done to him—informing him that he was moving in with Natalie wasn't the first thing that came to Tim's mind. "Oh… oh…sorry."

Giving the younger man's shoulder a squeeze, Tony grinned. "It's okay, Timmy. You're the only one I'll let get away accusing me of cheating."

He looked away, nervously; Tim felt guilty for thinking that Tony was cheating. "I jumped to conclusions… you're not the same person you were even a year and a half ago—certainly not the same person you were when we first met."

"Are you saying I was a cheater when we first met?"

"No—saying that I wouldn't have been surprised if you had been—back then."

Tony could see why his partner would think that—he wasn't the most respectful when it came to women back in those early days of their partnership. "She changed me, McGee. She made me realize that I'm worth something."

Tim gazed at Tony, seriously. "Come on, Tony, you were always worth something. You're a great agent—you taught me everything I know—and more importantly, you're my friend… one of my best friends. How can you say you don't have worth?"

He thought back to his conversation with Natalie that very morning. Tony shrugged. "It's amazing what a person can do with just their words, McGee."

For a moment there was no sound in the elevator. Tim adverted his eyes. He knew things had not been wonderful and rosy growing up for his partner—hell, they hadn't always been rosy growing up with a Navy Admiral as a father. While Tony never said it out loud, Tim was sure that Tony had been abused as a child. _He was physically assaulted as an adult by his father._ "Well, you should listen to Natalie or Abby or even Gibbs more when they tell you that you are worth something. Your father doesn't get a say—not anymore."

Reaching out, Tony flicked the switch and started the elevator. The doors slid open and the slightly older man stepped out, coming face to face with Gibbs.

"Natalie go see Georgia Wooten?" the team leader asked.

"Yeah. She left from my apartment," Tony replied. "Something wrong, boss?"

Gibbs brow furrowed in concern. "Worried this might be too much for her."

Tony's jaw clenched, slightly. "She told me she could handle it."

"Handle what?" Tim asked, confused.

"Do you think she can handle it, DiNozzo?" Gibbs inquired, ignoring McGee.

"Strongest woman I know, Gibbs," Tony replied. "Yes, she can handle it."

"Did you get the guy's name?"

"No. Do you want it so you can go all Papa bear on him or something?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, I want it so if the guy shows up I know to punch him in his smug face."

Tony grinned as the team leader turned around and walked back towards his desk. The senior field agent moved towards his own but Tim grabbed his arm, stopping him.

McGee brought his voice down to a whisper. "What is he talking about? The case?"

"No," Tony said, with a sad shake of his head. "And it's not for me to tell."

"Not for you to tell? Did something happen to Natalie?"

"It didn't happen here in Washington, okay? If she wants to tell you, she will."

"She was abused, wasn't she?"

Wincing, Tony glanced at Natalie's desk. Tim was smart and the senior field agent knew he would figure it out. "Yes," he said, softly, "verbally and emotionally. She got out before it got physical. Scars are just as bad."

Tim rocked back on his heels. Natalie was such a strong person, confident, _okay, confident most of the time…_ How did something like that happen to a person like Natalie?

Gibbs peered over the cubicle wall and yelled for them. Abby had something—finally—and they were all needed in the lab. Speculation about Natalie's past on Tim's part was going to have to wait until later—much later.

* * *

Natalie had gotten no where with Georgia Wooten; but she came to realize that she did understand the other woman's plight.

At one point the abuse that Natalie had endured had gotten so bad she had lost close to twenty pounds; the weight loss, coupled with her withdrawing from social circles and her family had been a giant red flag to her colleagues in the Boston PD. Natalie had been benched and when she had argued with that decision she had been instructed to get help.

Her response had been to take all her vacation time and obsess over that serial killer case that had eventually led her to Washington. Several days after leaving had come her wake-up call, glancing at how thin she was in a mirror and listening to her boyfriend complain that she was too fat. She'd moved back in with her parents after that; healthy eating habits and sleep helped her put most of the weight back on, but she would admit that from time to time she was still self-conscious about how she looked.

Tony often told her that she was beautiful, but what was more important, when he said it—she felt it. However, it had taken her months to feel whole again after she started dating Tony. She was incredibly afraid at first that this relationship was going to go the same way as her last…

Thus, it didn't surprise her that Georgia Wooten had completely closed up to her when she stopped by. The marine was still insisting that she didn't kill her husband but the evidence was stacking up against her. No alibi, her refusal to take the body, claiming she couldn't afford a funeral…

"Natalie?" Tony's voice cut through her fog. "Are you with me?"

"Sorry," Natalie mumbled, looking up from her desk. "I…I zoned out for a second."

"Did you at least zone out to someplace nice?" he asked with a smile.

"Not really; comparing how different my life is now to when I was in Boston," she said.

Tony opened his top drawer and pulled out a small, pink pastry box. He stood and crossed the space between their desks and put the box onto hers. "I picked something up for you on my way back from speaking to Georgia's commanding officer—again."

Natalie recognized the box from her favorite bakery and immediately felt her spirits lift. His sweet, small gestures of affection is what really started her on the path to feeling whole again—feeling like she was worth something again. "Thanks," she whispered, lifting the lid to look at the chocolate cupcake.

He kissed the top of her head. "Just make sure you hide it from McGee. He's been known to steal cupcakes if he skips a meal—especially if you tell him you're going gluten free."

She looked at him, puzzled. "Gluten free? I never said I was going gluten free."

Tony chuckled, sat on the edge of her desk, and played with her hair. Once she saw her favorite kind of cupcake the deep lines of worry on her forehead had pretty much disappeared; it was as if that cupcake reminded her that her life wasn't so bad now. He kissed the top of her head one more time and whispered, "You're worth it."

Natalie smiled as she swiped her finger through the frosting. She licked the chocolate frosting off and glanced up at him. "I know. But it's nice to be reminded."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped entering the bullpen. "Pull up those training photographs."

"Sure thing, boss," Tony said getting off of Natalie's desk. He grabbed the clicker. "What are we looking for?"

Gibbs watched as Tony pulled the pictures up onto the plasma, his eyes scanning them quickly as they flashed across the screen. "Stop there," he ordered. "Zoom in on Sergeant Wooten's wrist."

Tony did as he was instructed, feeling Natalie come to stand besides him, her body brushing against his. "It's a lovely watch," he commented. "Still not sure why we're looking at it."

Natalie felt her heart leap into her throat. "Those marks on the body, the ones Ducky couldn't quite figure out… they were made by a watch."

"Yeah, Georgia's," Gibbs sighed. "Abby just matched the imprints to the make of watch."

"It's not looking good for the Gunny," Tony mumbled.

"Did you get her to talk?" the team leader directed to Natalie.

"No," the young woman said with a sad shake of her head. "She closed up to me."

Gibbs turned on his heel, grabbed his jacket and barked at Tony to get moving. They were going to bring Georgia in again—this time she was under arrest.

Tony gently handed the clicker to Natalie and went to retrieve his gear. He saw the trouble expression in her eyes; he wanted to assure her that it was going to be alright, but the truth was, he couldn't be sure. Right now, it was looking like Georgia was going to jail for murdering her husband and their son was going to be taken into the State's custody.

Natalie swallowed back her tears and watched as they left. Glancing at the uneaten cupcake on her desk she realized that if she had not swiped her finger through it she might have given it to Tim to eat—she wasn't very hungry for it anymore.

* * *

"Talk to her," Gibbs instructed Natalie. "Maybe she'll listen to you."

"Because I had such great results this morning?" Natalie threw back sarcastically.

Gibbs responded by handing her a file folder. Natalie took a deep breath and the folder and stepped inside the interrogation room. She gently closed the door behind her, fixed her pink sweater, and went to the table.

Georgia Wooten looked up at her, coldly. "I have nothing to say to you."

Natalie sat down at the table. "You're in pain," she simply stated.

"What do you know about me?"

"I know what it's like to be told you're worthless; to be under the control of a man and that they only way to survive it is to shut down emotionally."

The marine didn't say a word, and Natalie sighed, sliding out photographs that had been taken of Georgia after her husband had sent her to the hospital. "I know that he beat you, Georgia. And I know that you are an extremely proud woman. These beatings had to stop and there was only one way to stop them."

Georgia slammed her hand down onto the photographs that Natalie had placed on the table. "Enough! I am not a victim!"

Natalie shook her head. "I know you're not; you're a survivor."

"I could take the beatings. It had been happening so long… I didn't even feel it anymore. Even when… even when he hit me in places… that no one would see. But Travis… he knew I was getting numb," Georgia said, looking away from the NCIS agent.

"He started to look for other ways to hurt you," Natalie surmised.

Georgia nodded. "Yes, that night… that night he found it… he found the one thing that could break me."

Natalie hid the photographs underneath the folder. "Jacob."

"He threatened to take my child from me; to tell the courts that I was unfit."

"You had no other choice."

"No! I did not kill him! I grabbed Jacob and I ran! I know how to disappear from my husband," Georgia argued, "but I did not know how to kill him."

* * *

Tony crossed his arms and leaned against the glass. He watched as Natalie asked a few more questions, trying to get some answers… "Do you think she did it, boss?"

Gibbs didn't know what to think. If Georgia was the one that had killed her husband, there were ways to get out of jail time—but the way the marine was closing up to the team, and especially to Natalie, was troubling. "I don't know, DiNozzo. This is the most she's talked to any of us."

"If Georgia didn't kill him, and Jancey didn't kill him, who the hell did?" Tony mused outloud.

"Damned if I know," Gibbs mumbled.

Tony pursed his lips and fixated his gaze on the back of Natalie's head. "You know, if that ex-boyfriend of Natalie's ever shows up… it will probably take all of my self-control to prevent myself from killing the guy."

Gibbs perked up. "What did you say?"

The senior field agent turned, a little sheepishly, and looked at his boss. "Sorry, boss, I was just saying that if Natalie's ex shows up, I might kill him."

The former marine realized that Tony was onto something and the younger man didn't even know it. "Tony," he said, "you might have just solved the case."

"Huh? I did?"

"Yeah. Someone felt the same way you feel about Natalie's ex-boyfriend."

Tony looked back int the interrogation room. "Well, who was that?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't know," he said as he left the observations room. _But I'm going to find out._

* * *

It was hard to believe that Len Feeney had thrown everything away just because he heard the pain in Georgia's voice when she had called the bar. Natalie wondered if her voice had betrayed her; if there had been pain in her own voice when she spoke.

Tony rubbed her back, sensing her troubled thoughts, but kept his eyes on the road. After they had arrested and booked Len, Gibbs had let the team go for the night. The SFA was hoping to brighten his partner's spirits—and this time he knew that a chocolate cupcake wasn't going to be enough.

Natalie watched the pretty streets of a Silver Springs neighborhood pass them by while he drove. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"My real estate called me," Tony said, "My offer on the townhouse fell through but she found us something that she thinks we're going to love. It's a bit of a fixer upper but… that means we can make it our own."

"Fixer upper, huh?" Natalie questioned with a smile, "Kind of like us. We've both needed a little fixing over this last year."

Tony chuckled and turned down a street lined with tall, thick trees and older, stately homes. He pulled up in front of a run-down bungalow and shut the car down. "So…. what do you think?"

Natalie looked at the house. It had to be at least seventy years old, it reminded her of some of the homes back in Boston in the suburbs… "Well… it needs a lot of work. Do you know how to do any renovations?"

He chuckled again. "I know how to paint."

She laughed, softly. "Me too… this could take us a long time…"

"Good news is, I have this trust fund," Tony said, smiling, "We could use that money to hire a decent contractor."

"You really think we can do this? Work full time and oversee a renovation?" Natalie asked.

Tony shrugged. "I don't see why not. People do it all the time on TV."

Natalie reached for him, gently pulling him in for a kiss. "Then let's do it. Let's buy this broken house and make it beautiful again."


	30. Valued

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "A Man Walks Into a Bar"

 **A/N:** Hello friends :) I am working on updates to "Everything" and "Held" they are just slow coming. By the way, yes Rachel is introduced in this chapter!

* * *

Several weeks after purchasing their home, Natalie sat crossed-legged in the sun of their gutted house and looked over counter top samples.

Tony sipped his coffee and watched her. She had insisted on coming over to the house, even though there was nothing but posts and beams as the contractor worked on the new floor plan. Apparently, being in the space would help her pick the perfect counter top for their kitchen. He wasn't so sure about that, but if it kept them on their schedule to move in day, Tony would let her sit in the middle of the dust for as long as she wanted.

Natalie's brow was furrowed deep in concentration, her dark wash jeans covered in dust, and there were flecks of plaster in her hair. She looked more like she was meant to be in a home improvement show—wearing a plaid shirt and her hair tied up in a messy bun—than a federal agent.

It only made him love her even more. Tony finished his coffee and disposed of the cardboard cup in the trash bin the workers had left behind. He took a few steps towards her and she looked up at him with a slight smile. "Does seeing them in the sun help?" he asked.

She grinned and held up a light gray quartz sample. "Yes. Look how this sparkles in the sun, and the kitchen is going to have a lot of natural light."

"Whatever makes you happy," Tony said.

"But it should be whatever makes us happy," Natalie argued.

"Darling, I'm just happy you agreed to move in with me."

"If I make all the design decisions it's not really our home."

Tony chuckled and took the sample out of her hand. He liked the soft color and subtle sparkle in the sun—but he loved the look in her eyes more. "I think it will look good with our new cabinets."

Natalie pulled herself to her feet. She had spent hours picking out their new cabinets; she just wanted everything to be perfect. _Especially if we want to have a family someday._ Grabbing the sample back, she frowned at it. "Well, we don't have to make a decision now."

He laughed, gently. "Get the countertop you want, Nat. It's your kitchen. You do more cooking than I do."

She looked at the sample once again, a look of adoration forming in her eyes. "I really do love it. Okay, I'll call the warehouse on Monday and order it."

"You know, if this federal agent thing doesn't work out for you," Tony said, grasping her waist and pulling her closer, "you could look into becoming a designer."

"A designer? It just took me nearly two hours to pick a countertop," Natalie responded. "I would never get anything accomplished and I'd be out of business in a month."

"True. It's just as well—I'm not up for searching for another replacement for our team."

"You like things the way they are?"

Tony grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows. "What do you think, beautiful?"

Natalie rolled her eyes, playfully. "I guess it would be rude of me to leave when Vance is overlooking that we're living together now. One of us should be packing for a new team."

He pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss. "Vance doesn't want to disrupt the waters, and more importantly he doesn't want to piss off Gibbs."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. It was going to take months for their house to be done and to save money she had moved into his apartment. So far, no one had said a word at NCIS and she suspected that had something to do with Gibbs. "I'm glad we're doing this—together."

Tightening his grip, Tony pulled her in as close as he possibly could. He brought his lips to the pulse point on her neck and began kissing it softly. She rewarded his efforts with a soft moan into his shoulder. Letting go of her, he brought his hands to the buttons on her plaid shirt… and his cell rang. Tony cursed.

Natalie pulled back and buttoned her shirt. Even though they were now living together, their job was getting in the way of their intimate relations. This would be the third time in a week that one of their phones rang just as they were getting in the mood.

"Gibbs needs us to meet him down in Norfolk," Tony said after he got off the phone.

"Case?" Natalie guessed.

"Naval commander found dead in his quarters," he replied. "Guess we're in for a drive."

"Well," she quipped as they headed out, locking the house behind them, "it's a good thing I picked a countertop then."

* * *

Rachel Cranston watched as a slender young woman slid down the steps on the naval vessel, landed on her feet, and deftly moved towards the crime scene. If it wasn't for the gold badge clipped at her waist, Rachel never would have guessed why the young woman was here. Except for the fact that Rachel had the federal agent's file in her possession and had seen her photograph.

Natalie Callahan didn't pay any attention to her, greeting the medical examiner with a smile. She slipped her bag off her shoulder and proceeded to get to work, no questions asked. In the short amount of time that Rachel had been observing this team she learned that Agent Gibbs had his agents working like a fine, well oiled machine. Very marine of him.

"I see you came from the house," Ducky chatted with Natalie as she worked. "How does the renovation go?"

"I managed to pick countertops in under two hours today," Natalie replied smiling. "At this rate the house will be done in five years."

Ducky chuckled and remarked that her attention to detail was what made her a good profiler. It had been hard reading through Callahan's file, Rachel realized that the young woman was remarkably similar in some aspects to her sister.

Rachel wondered what Kate would have thought about Natalie and her seamless transition onto the MCRT. It had been a difficult transition for Kate. Her little sister had felt that the agents were difficult to work with, that they didn't value her opinions at times… and Agent DiNozzo… well, Kate often remarked he wasn't living up to his potential.

"Who's the newbie?" a voice said to her left. "Gibbs trying to recruit or something?"

"Ah, Anthony," Ducky said, gesturing for the younger man to step into the quarters, "This is Doctor Rachel Cranston. She's here to make sure all our heads are on straight."

Tony eyed her, studying her, and then with a cheeky grin he shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you, Doc, my head is on straight. Good luck playing your mind games with us though."

Rachel smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "We'll see about that," she said, and went back to observing the team. She was very much interested in the interplay between DiNozzo and Callahan. It was much too familiar for partners and she suspected more was going on that really met the eye.

Not that anyone would say a peep to her about it. While NCIS didn't frown upon relationships between agents, agents on the same team was an entirely different matter. Leon Vance seemed like the type to overlook something like that if his best team was getting the job done.

"Dr. Cranston's going to be with us for a while," Gibbs said, shouldering his way into the small room. "Make sure you behave."

"Actually it would help me if they just acted like I wasn't here," Rachel interjected. "That way I can get to know them a little bit better."

Immediately she could tell that the agents didn't want her to get to know them, judging by the tense postures. Either this was going to be very insightful for her or it was going to turn into disaster and turn into one fast.

Gibbs snapped his fingers. "Just because the doctor is here doesn't mean you stop working."

Ducky pointed to the blood. "It appears that Commander Reynolds bled out. With this amount of blood I suspect an artery was nicked."

"There doesn't appear to have been a struggle," Natalie pointed out. "The Commander must have known his attacker."

"DiNozzo, talk to the kid who found him," Gibbs ordered.

"On it, boss," Tony said, stepping out of the quarters and around Rachel.

Natalie began to snap photographs, the dust particles in her hair clear in the bright lights of the officer's quarters.

Gibbs went and picked them out, discarding them into an evidence bag. "If you're going to come from the house, make sure there isn't any dry wall in your hair, Callahan." The lead agent reached out and placed a cap on her head, tucking her hair underneath it to make sure that no more particles contaminated his crime scene. "Did you finally pick the countertop?"

She nodded her head and kept working. "Third set of samples was the charm, I guess."

He laughed, silently. "I guess."

"Boss," McGee said, getting his attention. "Found a slug still in the mattress."

"Bag it and bring it back to Abby," Gibbs ordered.

"Doesn't look military issued to me," McGee said.

"The Captain mentioned having seven visitors on board, Jethro," Ducky recalled.

"Do you think any of them know about the Commander's death?" Natalie asked.

McGee winced and held up his cell phone. There was a ZNN report on Reynolds death already running. "Yeah," he whispered, "I'd say they know. What should we do boss?"

Gibbs could see that Rachel was looking at him intently. "You and Tony stay here, find out who leaked this information to the press."

"What about me?" Natalie inquired.

"You're going back to NCIS with the good doctor," Gibbs ordered.

Rachel knew from the look that the lead agent was giving Natalie this was not open for discussion. She smiled at the young woman and offered to drive back to the Navy Yard.

* * *

"Dr. Cranston, I really should be working," Natalie informed the smiling psychiatrist. "I have a profile to write…"

"Agent Gibbs has agreed to give me time with each of you," Rachel said, gesturing for Natalie to sit down. "This shouldn't take very long, Agent Callahan."

Natalie nervously sat down across the conference room table from Rachel. She wasn't sure why she needed to have an official evaluation. She had been seeing an outside therapist regularly since Somalia. "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

Rachel opened her file and put on her reading glasses. She clicked her pen and asked, "You came here to NCIS from Boston?"

"Yes. Serial killing case that had ties to the Navy," Natalie replied. "NCIS helped close the case."

"You had resigned from the Boston PD. Why were you still working a case?" Rachel inquired.

Natalie ran her tongue over her lips and looked outside at the bright, sunny winter day. "I needed to get back to what I knew, back to something that I was really good at. Profiling."

Rachel made a note on her pad. "And the Boston PD wasn't interested in your profiling abilities?"

"I resigned for personal reasons," Natalie snapped. "I don't see how any of this is relevant. I worked with NCIS and Gibbs offered me the job."

"Your spot was left vacant by Officer David," Rachel said, looking at her. "Did you know Officer David?"

"No, not when Gibbs offered me the job. I later… I later met her."

"And she wasn't very receptive?"

"You could say that." _She tried to kill me._

Rachel took a deep breath and made another note on her pad. "Were you made aware of any of the circumstances as to why Officer David came to NCIS?"

Natalie's brow furrowed. She wasn't sure why this question was so important. "The agent who filled that spot was killed in the line of duty, Special Agent Kate Todd. I know that… her loss was… significant to the team."

She fixed her glasses and clicked her pen. Rachel glanced at the young woman and gave a simple nod. "How do you know it was significant?"

 _One, black sketchpad passed between their hands. "By the way, I found this," Natalie told him, "I'm not sure who she wanted to have it but…I know it wouldn't have been me." The look in his green eyes crushed her; how heartbroken he was, how the loss still affected him._

Natalie shook her head and cleared it of the memory. "It didn't take a lot to figure it out once Tony or the others talked about her. She left a hole on the team that Ziva never quite filled; I've spent the last year trying to fill that hole."

"Do you think you've succeeded?" Rachel asked, honestly.

"Succeeded?" Natalie repeated. The doctor nodded her head. The federal agent flashed back to Gibbs kissing her forehead, Tony's hugs, and laughing with McGee… "I guess so."

"You've struggled with that you whole life, haven't you?"

"Struggled with what?"

Rachel nodded towards the file. "Living up to expectations. Isn't that the whole reason you left the Boston PD? Why you came to D.C?"

Natalie squirmed nervously in her seat. "Boston wasn't a warm and fuzzy atmosphere to work in. I had to work hard to prove myself… even then there were some that didn't think I was ever going to be good enough."

"So you came to Washington."

"I came to Washington to solve a case."

"And perhaps prove yourself worthy?"

"Yes, maybe a little bit of that too."

"It's well known that working with Agent Gibbs is hard. Why did you take the job?"

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Natalie cast her eyes downward. "Agent Gibbs and his team were the first men in law enforcement to look past my gender, to look past the long hair and delicate features, and value me for my work. Has it been easy? No. Has it been worth it? Yes."

Rachel would have to agree that being a woman in law enforcement was hard, but she quietly nodded her head. She was here to get to know Natalie better and what made her tick. "Feeling valued is all you've ever wanted."

Natalie felt tears spring into her eyes. "Yes, I want to feel valued… let me ask you something, Dr. Cranston, is wanting to feel worthy, valued… is that too much to ask for?"

The only answer that Rachel could give her was a silent shake of her head. "No, it isn't too much to ask for, Agent Callahan. In fact, I think it is only natural to want to feel that way."

"Am I free to go?"

Rachel nodded and watched as Natalie rose up from the table. "Just… one more thing, Agent Callahan… did you find it? That feeling of being valued?"

Natalie thought about it for a moment and then sighed, "Yes." _You are not worthless._ Tony telling her that just a few weeks had never really resonated with her, completely, until that moment. It had only taken a shrink that barely knew her to bring her to this realization, the truth that had been in front of her the entire time.


	31. Something to Talk About

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "A Man Walks Into a Bar", earlier seasons of NCIS

 **A/N:** I think the last update for this story got lost in a shuffle/flurry of postings. I updated it late at night, which seems to be a more popular time to update. I admit I'm struggling writing at the moment. Feedback on what you would like to see would very much be appreciated. It really does help at times to direct me in where the story is going. Enjoy!

* * *

It was hard to concentrate on this case, Tony realized as he entered the mess hall on the _Colonial_ with Tim—with a shrink hanging around, judging their every move— made it nerve wracking. Tony never liked head doctors. He couldn't hide from them. They saw right through his act, much like Natalie did, but at least she didn't try to profile him.

Tim seemed just as nervous as Tony about Cranston hanging around. "What do Vance and Gibbs think we're going to talk about with her? I don't have any secrets; I'd like to think I'm mentally stable."

Tony chuckled, his eyes scanning the mess hall for the visitors that the Captain had pointed out to them and perhaps the group their killer was hiding in. "Well, then I doubt you have anything to worry about."

"What if she asks about my family?"

"Compared to mine—yours is warm and fuzzy."

"Do you think… do you think she'll ask about your dad?"

He absolutely knew Cranston was going to ask about his father. His father was the root of his problems. It was in his file that Senior was serving time in a rehab program as well as serving a sentence for assault and battery. Tony wasn't going to be able to get around the subject of his father. "It's her job, Tim."

While that was true, it still made Tim uncomfortable. He liked to keep that part of his past private—not even his new girlfriend knew about his past with his dad. It scared him that Cranston was going to know and pick that apart. "What do you think Natalie is talking to her about?"

Tony felt his shoulders tense. _Any number of things._ Natalie's past might not be as dark or as secretive as his, but she had her demons; emotional abuse, her little brother's death... "Somalia, her ex-boyfriend—take your pick."

Tim licked his lips. "You?"

"I'd say there's a good chance of that."

"Does that bother you?"

"Cranston isn't going to change Natalie's mind about me."

"No, I mean, that your relationship will be out in the open."

The senior field agent shrugged. "It kind of already is, Tim. No one ever talks about it, but everyone around the building _knows._ "

Tim couldn't deny that. It was the most _not_ talked about topic. "Cranston could force Vance to follow the rules and have one of you transferred to another team."

Tony shrugged again, watching as a short, thin, Asian man rapidly moved towards them. "Fine, I'll transfer. There are other teams in D.C—Natalie is more important than my job, honestly."

"Excuse me," the Asian civilian finally reached them, "When are we going to be allowed off this ship?"

"NCIS is still conducting an investigating, Mr. Kwan," Tony said, reading the man's name badge, "We'll let you know as soon as you're free to go."

"I have deadlines to meet!" Kwan argued.

"Yeah? And I have a killer to find," Tony snapped. "Sit down!"

Tim and Tony watched as the man stalked away. "South Korean journalist… he's been bugging to leave since we got here," the junior agent supplied.

Tony frowned; it was rather suspicious, then again he believed that all journalists were rather suspicious. "Huh… wonder what the good doctor would think about him."

A young petty officer slid in front of him, suddenly. "Your instincts are spot on, sir," she said, anxiously. "He's your killer. I saw him arguing with Commander Reynolds last night."

"What time was this?" Tony asked.

"Just a couple of hours before the XO was found dead," the petty officer said.

"Ok," Tony said, sending her along, "thanks for the help Petty Officer."

Tim raised an eyebrow as the young woman walked away. "What do you think? Do you think she's right? The South Korean killed Reynolds?"

Tony pursed his lips. "It would explain why his so eager to get off the ship. But… let's wait until we get Natalie's profile on Reynolds." _I'm thinking there's more than meets the eye there._

* * *

"Do you have that profile for me?" Gibbs asked, stepping into the bullpen. He placed a cardboard coffee cup onto her desk. "Chai tea—someone told me it was your favorite."

"Thank you. It is, but it doesn't have the caffeine to keep me going," Natalie confessed, hitting the print button on her computer. Immediately something popped out of the printer. Grabbing her chai tea, Natalie retrieved the paper from the tray. "Commander Reynolds led a rather unremarkable life—meaning other than the job, that was it. He wasn't married and didn't have kids. And as far as I could find out… he wasn't seeing anyone before this last deployment."

Gibbs frowned at the paper that she offered him. "That rules out Tony's ever persistent theory that the wife did it."

Natalie smiled, softly. "He's going to have to come up with a different theory this time; one that doesn't involve the wife."

"How about a South Korean?" Gibbs asked.

"One of the journalists on the ship?" Natalie countered.

The team leader nodded. "Petty Officer told Tony that the journalist was our killer, seemed pretty certain about that."

She glanced at her desk. "I have a stack of files to go through about the civilians on the ship. Do you want me to start going through those?"

He sipped his coffee. "Tim checked into them. They only one that wasn't with Navy personnel at the time of the shooting was Kwan. Focus on him. And then report back to DiNozzo. I have him babysitting the journalist on the _Colonial_ until further notice."

The young woman scrunched her noise up. "Dr. Cranston was hoping to speak with him when he got back—she's isn't going to like that."

"I'm not here to please Dr. Cranston," Gibbs snapped. "I'm here to solve a case."

"Director Vance promised her that she would get a chance to speak to all of us," Natalie replied.

Gibbs eyed her incredulously. "I don't need to speak to a shrink, Callahan."

Natalie frowned at him. "In this line of work, sooner or later you do have to speak to one."

He sipped his coffee and gestured for her to get back to work. "Not today. I have an Admiral to go speak to about Commander Reynolds in MTAC. Find me something on that South Korean, Callahan."

* * *

Tim pushed the door to Gibbs' favorite diner open, spotted Natalie and went to sit down. "Is this where we hide from Dr. Cranston."

Natalie nodded her head but didn't look up from her laptop. "And Gibbs. I've found _nothing_ on the South Korean journalist. He's going to be at my throat."

"Well, Gibbs went back to the _Colonial,_ " Tim replied, flipping open a menu.

"Good luck, Tony," Natalie murmured, sipping her coffee. "Gibbs is in a mood."

"Killers and shrinks will do that to him."

"Hmmm… I'll say."

Tim closed his menu and drummed his fingers against the table. "So… how was it? Talking to her?"

Natalie looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Dr. Cranston?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She shrugged. "Just a normal psych evaluation. We've all had them before."

"Yeah… guess we have."

"Are you worried about yours, Tim?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. He hated the idea of having to open up to a complete stranger. It was hard for him to open up to his friends. "Don't know what I'm going to talk about, I guess. My life outside of NCIS is pretty boring."

Natalie smiled and went back to work. "Don't worry—Cranston will find _something_ for the two of you to chat about."

He looked around for their waitress. "What did you talk about?"

She chuckled. "No way, Tim. That's doctor/patient confidentiality. I cannot talk to you about our session."

"Figured I'd at least give it a try."

"Would you believe me if I told you we chatted about the house?"

Tim found it hard to believe that Cranston had spent all that time with Natalie talking about the fixer-upper that the young woman had purchased with Tony. Of course, if Cranston found that Natalie and Tony had bought a house together, that would open a can of worms that any shrink would probably love to dive right into. "Do you think the South Korean did it? Do you think he killed Captain Reynolds?" he asked, changing the subject.

Natalie turned her laptop around and showed Tim would she had found. "Maybe. I think I finally found something. Looks like the journalist was sending emails, encrypted ones to someone at the time of the murder but I can't seem to get into them to find out who he was emailing. Do you think you can crack the code?"

He nodded and slid the laptop closer. By the time the waitress showed up to take his order Tim had learned that the emails were going to a submarine—a North Korean submarine. Quickly, the junior agent dialed and called the team leader. Gibbs was going to want to hear this.

* * *

"Kwan was a spy for North Korea, and he was emailing photographs of weapon systems at the time of the murder," Tony said, rubbing his hand over his face. "He confessed to being a spy to get out of a murder charge, but I guess Tim's hack job proved his innocence in that."

"Abby's still working on those slugs," Natalie said, pulling herself up onto the cabinet behind the senior field agent's desk. Gently she reached out and massaged his shoulders. "Once we get the information on those bullets, I bet we get another lead."

Tony rolled his neck, enjoying the sensation of her hands on his body, and he chuckled. "This is clearly _red light behavior,"_ he cited from the annual sexual harassment conference they had to attend. "What would Dr. Cranston think?"

Natalie laughed, softly, but continued to rub his shoulders. She could tell he was tense, his muscles were taut underneath her fingers. "I'm just trying to help my partner get all the kinks and knots out."

He grinned. "Or… you're just seducing your partner."

She lightly kissed him on the cheek. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No, because my shoulders really do hurt."

"Well, shush then."

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't call me that—it makes me sound old."

Gibbs, loaded up with coffee, stormed into the bullpen then, his blue eyes fixated on Cranston watching the interplay of his agents in the shadows. "Go home," he ordered. "Nothing else we can do until we get those ballistics back."

Tony sighed and reached for his backpack. He waited until Natalie had moved back to her desk to push his own chair back. "I knew that the South Korean journalist was too easy. Seemed weird that the Petty Officer was convinced it was him too. God, where's a wife or a girlfriend when you need a suspect?"

Natalie shook her head with a slight smile. She knew her boyfriend was going to immediately wish for a romance gone wrong to make things easier. Truth was, some days she wished the same thing. "Maybe he had a Russian mistress," she teased Tony.

"Hey," Tony snapped, finding his keys. "There's always the possibility…"

"I think you're going to have to think outside the box on this one," Natalie responded, following him to the elevator.

"Right now I'm too tired to think outside the box."

"So, I guess you're too tired to stop for pizza."

"Never too tired to stop for pizza."

Gibbs chuckled as the doors to the elevator closed and drowned their voices out. He sipped his coffee and waited patiently for Cranston.

Cranston didn't surprise him, stepping into the bullpen and cocking an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to rule 12?"

He shrugged. "It seemed pointless to fight them."

She sighed. "They fell in love."

"Again—no point in fighting it."

"You've fought it before…"

Again, Gibbs shrugged. He thought back to Paula and Ziva; women that were just too strong willed for Tony. He needed someone like Natalie, someone with gentle guidance but also that strong will. "Other women weren't right for him."

Cranston frowned. "And you thought it was your job to tell him _who_ he should be dating?"

 _Relationships between agents, they never work out, Kate._ Gibbs felt the presence of the fallen agent in that moment. How she scoffed at him that night in Cuba, how she would have scoffed at him for saying that right this very moment. "I thought I was helping him. Turns out, I was just hindering him. He's grown since being with Natalie. That growth never would have happened if Ziva stuck around."

"Why do you say that?" Cranston asked him, honestly.

"Because I never would have allowed anything to happen between them," Gibbs replied. "I would have held Tony back. And that, Dr. Cranston, would have been a real shame."


	32. Distraction

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "A Man Walks Into a Bar", sexy times in the backseat of a car...

 **A/N:** Ok, figured I would post this for you tonight. And yes... the rating changed.

* * *

Ducky waited until he got the phone call from Gibbs that Doctor Cranston had left for the evening and then he ventured upstairs, Natalie's profile clutched tightly in his hand. "Jethro, while I do not doubt Miss Callahan's work… something feels off in this profile she has written."

Gibbs scowled and tossed an empty coffee cup into the trash bin. "It's Cranston. I let her speak to Natalie first; it was a bad idea. She wasn't herself the rest of the day. Sent her home with Tony early. Maybe that will help."

"Yes, well, no one likes people digging into our inner most thoughts," Ducky mused. "What I find surprising in her profile is that he had no enemies, no reason for anyone to kill him. While he was an excellent officer… he never would have made it higher than Commander."

"The Admiral agreed with that assessment," Gibbs informed him. "Reynolds hated the politics of it all."

Ducky could see Gibbs' gears were beginning to turn. Something that he had just said sparked something in the lead agent and the former marine was reaching for his phone. "Jethro?"

Gibbs waved him off. "Natalie was more spot on then she believed," he mused, waiting for the person he was calling to answer. "McGee? Yeah, I need you back at the office. Let's get to work without the doctor around."

"Tony and Natalie?" Ducky questioned after Gibbs had hung up with McGee.

"I'll call them when McGee gets here," Gibbs replied. "They went to get something to eat."

"So, I'm not the only one concerned about her," the medical examiner said.

"No," Gibbs said with a sigh. _You're not._

* * *

"Do you think it's sad that Commander Reynolds didn't have a wife or family?" Natalie asked.

"Sad?" Tony repeated, keeping his eyes on the road. "He had a decent career."

"But that's _all_ he had," she pointed out. "And he wasn't going to rank much higher. You heard what the Admiral said."

"Navy was asking him to retire," he countered. "Why this sudden line of questioning? You haven't said a word since we left the Navy Yard."

Swiping her hair out of her eyes, Natalie glanced out her window at the passing buildings. "I spent most of my day with Reynolds, getting to know him, trying to find his enemies that might want him dead… the only enemy I could come up with, really, was himself."

Tony took a deep breath, turned his car down the street towards his apartment, and gave his head a little shake. "Are you suggesting that he committed suicide? If so, where was the note? Or the gun he used?"

Natalie sighed. "I haven't figured that part out yet. These questions have been bothering me all afternoon once we learned the spy wasn't our killer."

"Well, can you stop worrying about it until the morning?" Tony asked. "We need a break."

"You're just sore that we were called in on a Sunday," Natalie said.

"The weekends are supposed to be a time we get to ourselves."

"Hey, I told you that the countertops could have waited."

Tony shook his head. As much as he loved living with her in his apartment, it was still _his_ apartment—he wanted the house to be finished so they could start the next phase of their life together. "We have a schedule to stick too."

Natalie reached out and placed her hand over his. She brushed her fingers across his knuckles and smiled. "The night is still young. We can skip the pizza…"

He chuckled. "As much as I would love to skip dinner and go straight to bed with you, I haven't eaten much since this morning."

She got that sparkle in her eye that signaled his was about to become putty in her hand. Letting go of his hand, she placed hers on the inside of his thigh. "We've been interrupted so much this week… we should take the opportunity that's been given to us… pizza can wait."

"Damn it, Natalie," Tony hissed as he felt his body responding to her. "I'm trying to drive here!"

"Am I distracting you?" Natalie questioned, lightly rubbing his leg.

Tony felt his body buzzing with his arousal. Suddenly, he forgot about the damn pizza and how hungry he was. He just wanted her—and they were driving in the opposite direction of his apartment. "We're nowhere near home."

Natalie licked her lips and squeezed his thigh. He groaned, low in his throat and cursed. "There's a park and ride before the next exit. Pull in there."

He felt his heart beat widely against his ribcage. Recklessly he steered the car off the highway and into the park and ride. It was dimly lit, not many cars in the spots—a few sixteen wheelers that had stopped for the night… but other than that, it was pretty much abandoned. "Okay," he said, parking the car, "I did as I was told. Do I get rewarded now?"

She laughed, huskily, and pointed to the back seat. "I think you should crawl into the back seat and find out if you earned one."

Tony grinned at her, undid his seat belt, and maneuvered his way into the back seat. "Feel like I'm back at boarding school… there was an all girls school down the street from ours... guys would pick girls up in fancy cars all the time to have sex in the backseat... I remember this one time..." He was silenced when Natalie crawled into the back seat with him and kissed him, hard. Breathing heavily, Tony pulled away, still smiling. "Although, those girls weren't as aggressive as you."

Natalie adeptly undid the buttons on his shirt and ran her fingers down his chest, over his taut stomach and straddled him. "Well, I know what I want from you…"

"Clearly," Tony purred, sliding his hands underneath her shirt and caressing her breasts. "Or we would have gone to get pizza and done this at home…"

"We could always get back into the front seat, turn the car around and drive home," Natalie said, as her hand moved lower to the button on his jeans, which were doing a poor job concealing the fact that he was incredibly turned on by her. "Something tells me you'd rather not wait."

"Oh, we were beyond the point of no return when you _ordered_ me to pull off the highway," Tony growled. He yanked one hand out of her shirt and undid the buttons, pushing the flannel fabric off her shoulders. She wiggled out of the shirt, tossing it somewhere in the car. In the dim light cast by a nearby street lamp he could see she was wearing a see through, ivory lace bra. "I see you have my favorite bra on. It's almost like you planned this."

"Maybe I was," Natalie cooed, a coy smile spreading across her face. She unzipped his jeans and stuck her hand inside, feeling him. She watched as his eyes fluttered shut, his lashes fanning out over his tan skin and a breathy moan escaped his lips. "Maybe I've been thinking about doing this for a long time and finally just worked up the courage."

Tony grunted as she continued to play with him. His fingers dig into her hips and he used them to lower her closer so he could firmly plant his mouth on her pulse point. He quickly began to plant open mouth kisses all along her neck and collarbone, down between her breasts and back up to her lips. There was an intense passion behind their kiss, with a raw and primal need for each other.

Natalie let go of him, using her now free hand to push his jeans and boxers lower. Tony wiggled and twisted about on the leather seat, awkwardly wedging himself against the cushions so he could get the offending pants off. Natalie's were next. The pair continued to kiss and touch and explore each other while wrestling her jeans off.

Breaking away from the kiss and panting, Tony slipped his fingers underneath her lacy panties and rubbed her folds gently between them. A needy moan emerged from deep within his chest when he felt how aroused she was already, without him barely touching her. Sweat beading up on his forehead, Tony continued to circle her clit, her hips rolling and grinding against him as short pants escaped her.

Tony watched the muscles in her stomach constricting and tightening. His body trembled as she came, breathlessly crying his name and the need for his own release nearly undid him. He wasted no time removing her panties, twisting their bodies about, smashing into the center console, the doors and the back of the front seats as they went—but finally her underwear ended up in the pile of clothing strewn on the floor of the car.

"My back is going to kill me in the morning," Tony panted, situating her above his erection. "Not as young and spry as I used to be, you know…"

"Promise, I'll give you back massages later," Natalie breathed, just before she lowered herself around him and sighed, heavily.

Hands resting on his chest, Natalie began to rock her hips, Tony meeting her with steady thrusts of his own hips and the couple got lost in the familiar sensation of being with the other. Despite having his tall frame lodged between the back doors of his car, one leg hanging off the edge of the seat and the other pressing into the door for leverage—he wasn't going to complain. It just brought a new meaning to the term _human pretzel._

Natalie gripped his toned biceps, digging her fingernails lightly into his skin. It would surely leave mark but it being winter and all, no one but her would see them. She closed her eyes as left leg slid along the leather seat and got tangled up with Tony's dangling leg. The movement pushed her forward slightly and her hair tumbled down into his face, loosening from the messy bun.

Tony reached out and buried a hand in that loose, messy bun, and pulled her closer, searing her lips with a hot, needy kiss. Immediately her mouth opened to him and he slipped his tongue inside, starting an all too familiar dance with hers—a dance that usually left them gasping for air. "Damn it, Natalie," he rasped, breaking them apart. "How come I still want you so badly after all this time? Shouldn't the flame be… dying a bit?"

She kissed the hollow in his neck with a feather like brush of her mouth over his sweaty, salty skin. "Feels…feels like it's getting stronger."

"You know what it feels like?" Tony grunted, snapping his hips in a furious rhythm to get her to come, and wrapping his leg that was previous smashed against the door around her waist and drawing himself even deeper inside of her, pulling her closer. "Feels so good… _you_ feel so damn good, Natalie."

"Oh, God, yes," she moaned, her eyes half shut. It was incredible how every time they had sex felt like it was the first time. It was always passionate and intense; powerful yet at the same time loving and gentle. It was a combination they were finding they could not get enough of, apparently. "More… Tony… please…"

Needing a bit more stability to give her what she was craving, Tony wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, bucking his hips in erratic, hard thrusts to give her exactly what she wanted. Each time their bodies came together pushed them closer and closer to that blissful edge; the car was rocking, glass fogged, anyone could pull up right beside them and know exactly what was going on inside.

Somehow that heightened the intensity, the threat of being caught…

A fire began to spread through his entire body and Tony wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to hold off. Suddenly her whole body convulsed, shook with her release and a primal cry filled the small space of the car. Tony shuddered and pumped his hips a couple of more times before he exploded, shouting her name, blood rushing and pounding in his ears as he reached that ultimate high.

They were both still lying there, sweaty, tangled up in each other's arms, when Tony's cell phone rang. Laughing as he was still trying to catch his breath, he rolled Natalie off of him and to her side, reaching down to find his jeans and his phone.

"Probie," he said in a husky tone when he answered.

" _What are you doing?"_ McGee asked, innocently.

"Do you want to know the real answer?" Tony countered with a grin.

" _No,"_ McGee said, firmly. " _Gibbs wants you and Natalie back at the Navy Yard."_

"Now?" Tony whined, looking at his half naked state.

" _Yes now,"_ Gibbs snapped, revealing that Tony was on speaker, " _Doctor is gone for the night. We can work in peace, so get your pants back on and get the hell back here!"_

Tony gulped as he was hung up on. "Ah… boss wants us to get dressed and go back to the office."

Natalie sighed and crawled over him, finding her underwear and jeans. She slithered up to the front seat and managed to get dressed. Tony did the same in the back seat. When he fumbled his way back to the driver's seat, she was buttoning her shirt up.

He started the car back up. "Good thing we stopped and didn't turn around to go home."

She laughed, softly, ran a few fingers through her hair trying to comb it back into place. "Yeah… that would have been fun—especially if you walked in with a hard-on."

* * *

Rachel found the NCIS agents working hard the following morning when she arrived. It was obvious that they had not gone home, even though DiNozzo was wearing a well tailored suit and smelled like Old Spice—and the faint hint of sex—Callahan had on dress pants and an ivory sweater, her hair damp from a shower, and McGee a crips new polo shirt.

Yes, Rachel could come to the conclusion that even though Gibbs had let them go home, after she had left, he'd called them back. Probably so they could work without her lurking around every corner. He had been touted as being clever and sneaky. "Good morning," she greeted, smiling. "Did everyone sleep well?"

"Slept fine," Tony muttered, not bothering to make eye contact with her.

"Any new leads on the case?" Rachel inquired, her brown eyes studying each agent.

"Nothing yet," Natalie supplied with a half-hearted smile.

"I can see that you all aren't very chatty this morning," Rachel said, noticing Gibbs step into the bullpen. "Not surprising when your leader has been avoiding me."

Gibbs smirked and sipped his coffee. "Haven't been avoiding you, Doc."

Rachel pursed her lips. "You have a problem with professional women, Gibbs."

He laughed and shook his head. "I don't have a problem with women, I have a problem with women asking me questions."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and asked to tag along with him to the lab. Rachel had yet to meet Abby, even though she knew plenty about her through her sister and the files she had been handed. She was surprised that Gibbs allowed her to tag along. "Did you keep your agents here last night so they could work without me around?"

"Tony will tell you his best work is at night," Gibbs commented with a smirk.

"Hmm, I have no doubt," Rachel cracked stepping into the elevator with him. "Am I going to get to speak to Agent DiNozzo today?"

Gibbs chuckled. "That's up to him, Doc; not me."

Rachel sighed. If it was going to be left up to Tony… she would never speak to him.


	33. New Direction

**Warnings:** Spoliers for "A Man Walks Into a Bar"

 **A/N:** It was too hot today to go to the garden center and get my plants for my garden this year. So I stayed in and did some writing in front of a cool fan. Hope you enjoy this update :)

 **Guest-** _I do plan on incorporating "Life Before His Eyes" into this verse, so yes, there will be a version of life without Natalie at NCIS. Thanks for reading!_

 _ **amaia** \- Of course Gibbs knew Tony didn't have his pants on; Gibbs knows everything ;)_

* * *

 _I miss Kate._

Rachel stood ramrod straight in the elevator. Abby had been the first team member that had known her sister to verbally admit out loud they were still effected by Kate's death. While it appeared to her that they had struggled finding a replacement for her sister, judging by their rocky relationship with Ms. David—and Ms. Sciuto's ice cold reception of Agent Callahan—Rachel never expected any of them to say it. _I miss Kate._

Abby and Kate had been close. An odd pair, considering the music and clothes that Abby liked. Kate had always been a bit of a prude; Rachel could attest to that. But Kate had adored Abby's comfort level with who she was.

Everyone on the team was exactly the way Rachel had pictured them from Kate's descriptions. Everyone that is, except Tony. Her sister had often described the senior field agent as an overgrown frat boy, but that was the image Rachel felt he portrayed. She wasn't sure if that had something to do with Natalie or not. General consensus seemed to be that she was the reason for his change… In Kate's eyes, Tony had always been someone that never lived up to his potential—including in his personal life.

"Oh, Doctor Cranston," Natalie's voice startled her. "I didn't know you were still in the building."

 _Liar,_ Rachel thought with a smile. Kate would have liked the former Boston detective. It was a shame the two women never got to meet, especially with how much Natalie had shaped and changed Tony. "Just finished talking to Miss Sciuto."

Natalie winced as she stepped into the elevator. "How did _that_ go?"

Rachel smiled at her. "I think it went well. Your relationship with Miss Sciuto is… strained, at best."

"Abby hated that I took Ziva's place. It has gotten better but… she's protective of Tony," Natalie replied.

"Like a sibling," Rachel offered.

Natalie pushed her hair off her shoulder. "Tony doesn't have any siblings but that would be a fair comparison."

Rachel wondered if that was blessing or a curse for Tony. There were days she had wished she was an only child… _but that isn't the point…_ "Any secrets to getting Tony to open up to me?"

She focused her gray eyes on the wall in front of her. "Not any that I'm going to tell you."

The doctor smiled, softly. "Guess Miss Sciuto isn't the only one that's protective of Tony."

"You talked to me about value and worth yesterday," Natalie recalled just before the doors to the elevator opened. "And we talked about how this team—Tony—has given me that value and worth. Damn straight I'm going to protect him."

"I get the impression that he would do the same for you," Rachel countered. "He took quite the beating in Somalia when he stood between a raging terrorist and you…"

Natalie, not in the mood to talk about Somalia, stepped off the elevator and headed back towards her desk.

Rachel was prepare for the young woman to close up about Somalia. It was clear in her file that Somalia had forced her from the job and into therapy. It was a case that made the young woman the agent she was today. She had been met with similar results when she tried to talk to Agent McGee about the capture and torture of his friends…

Stepping out of the elevator and following behind Natalie, Rachel found the team still working… being pushed to their limits and not blinking an eye about it. Gibbs had this time working as a well-oiled machine. _Even well-oiled machines break._

* * *

Gibbs decided that tonight he was really going to send the team home. Leads were not panning out and their next interview wasn't until early morning. It was better to let his agents go home and rest. Besides, Cranston had been giving him a somewhat disapproving glare the harder he worked his team.

Starving, Tony drove himself, Natalie, and Tim to the diner. As much as he wanted an encore performance of their backseat escapades from the night before, Tony also realized that he and Natalie needed a good meal and sleep. Sex was probably going to have to wait until after the case was closed.

Although, Tony noted, one Timothy McGee seemed eager to finish his dinner and catch a cab back to his place. Tony chuckled, watched as his partner got into the taxi and sped off. "Oh, young love," he mused.

Natalie looked up from her meal and frowned. "What are you talking about?

Tony grinned. "McGee. Rushing home to spend a little quality time with his amour."

"He hasn't seen her in almost three days," Natalie pointed out. "You once told me we have to use our time wisely."

"Mmmm, yeah, we used it wisely last night didn't we?" Tony joked taking a bite of his burger.

Natalie smiled, coyly, and continued to eat silently. Yes, Tim might still be in the rush of a new relationship and he wanted to spend every moment with his new girlfriend, but Natalie knew that what she with Tony was far more everlasting. It even led to the occasional spontaneous sexual encounter—like the night before. "The backseat of your car might think differently," she teased.

Tony laughed and reached across the table to grasp her hand in his own. They were well past the new relationship stage, but he found that he was rather enjoying this deep love he had developed for her. It was better than a string of one night stands or short lived relationships. "Well, it was good for us that I didn't care much what the backseat of my car thought."

She pushed her plate away. "I hope you don't mind… but I think I want to just go home and curl up in front of the fire place." _Fall asleep in your arms…_

He ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I like the sound of that. It's been a long and exhausting day. And at least one of us had our brains picked apart by the doctor."

"Speaking of that—Gibbs isn't going to let you get away with not talking to her. Why not just rip the Band-Aid off?"

"Because doing that hurts—do you know many people that like to do stuff that hurts?"

"Tony, she has the power to bench you. Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not."

Natalie looked at him with a pleading glance. "Then please, just talk to her. I know you tell people that I'm the strongest person you know, but Tony… you're the strongest person _I_ know. You have nothing to worry about."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips and let go of her hand. "What if she tells Vance we need to be on separate teams? It took me months to warm up to the idea of a new partner, let alone trust a new partner." _I can't take that kind of betrayal again._

She titled her head to the side and looked at him, incredulously. "Tony. Eventually, someday, we won't be sitting across from each other in that squad room."

He sighed, knowing that it was the truth. He just wasn't ready to face that truth. "I know that. I was just hoping… we'd be… married… by then."

"Woah, married? We just moved in together," Natalie joked with a grin, "Don't rush me, DiNozzo."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tony said, smiling. "But I can't help feeling the way I do—I want to make sure no one can snatch you away from me. Putting a ring on it surely lessens the chances."

Natale was about to counter when her cell phone buzzed. Glancing down she noticed that it was text from Abby. "Did you have another _chat_ with Abby? She's asking me to go to the movies with her. Tony, you have to let it go that Abby and I are just not going to be friends."

Tony looked at her puzzled. "I haven't had any talks with Abby about you in months. Perhaps her chat with the doctor changed her mind. Maybe you should go to the movies with her."

She frowned, slightly. "What about our night in front of the fireplace?"

He offered her a gentle smile. "I'll be there when you get home. Hey, if this means your relationship with Abby improves…"

"Then I should probably go."

"I'll have a glass of wine waiting for you when you get home."

Natalie grabbed her coat, slid out of the booth and kissed his cheek before she left. Tony watched her head outside and hail a cab. Paying for their meals, Tony headed towards his car and drove home.

* * *

In the morning the only one that had gotten a decent amount of sleep had been Tony.

Natalie had not come home from hanging out with Abby until close to two, and Tim, well… no one had to ask what had kept the junior agent up all evening. Tony took as many opportunities to tease the younger man about, calling him _McStudMuffin_ for the entire morning. Even Gibbs got in on the fun by patting Tim on the shoulder as the two went off to interview Commander Reynolds' brother.

Tony smiled at her now that they were alone. "I waited for you last night. Guess you had more fun with Abby than you thought you were going too."

She smiled and bit down on her lower lip nervously. "We had a lot of fun. It was nice to hang out with another woman. I love you and all, but sometimes I need break."

He didn't feel hurt or jealous like he thought he would. Tony, instead, felt relieved. Finally, after all this time perhaps Abby and Natalie were becoming friends. "I'm glad you had a good time. She didn't talk you into getting any tattoos did she?"

"Guess you'll find out the next time we're in bed," Natalie teased.

"You're going to make me wait until then?" Tony questioned.

Natalie looked away and went back to her work, coyly glancing at him every now and then. When she heard his chair move she knew where he was headed. Sure enough, he ended up behind her behind her, leaning over her so his mouth was right up against her ear. "Don't you have work to do?"

Tony licked his lips and lowered them close to her ear. "Yes. I need to find out if you have a tattoo or not, and where, my beautiful little tease, it is."

She shivered slightly when his hot breath hit her neck but she continued to work. "Abby told me you were going to react this way."

 _It's a butterfly on my hip. No it's not._ He brushed the memory away by brushing Natalie's hair off of her shoulder. "You realize if you did get one, you have to put it in your personnel file as a distinguishing mark. I could just look into that…"

"You could but that wouldn't be as much fun."

"Tease."

Natalie turned to glance up and smile at him. "And you love every second of it."

Tony grinned. She was right. He did love the fact that she was an absolute tease. His phone was ringing, pulling him away from his partner and back towards his desk. "Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo… oh hey boss. Find Mrs. Hargrove, on it."

Waiting until Tony had hung up the phone, Natalie inquired, "Gibbs wants us to find Admiral Hargrove's wife?"

He nodded. "Apparently she had a relationship with Commander Reynolds."

She quirked an eyebrow. "By relationship you mean affair?"

Tony grunted softly and got to work tracking down the Admiral's wife. It seemed that their case had suddenly taken on a whole new direction.


	34. Closure

**Disclaimer:** Some of the dialog has been taken from directly from the episode. I do not own those words, they belong to the writer which I think in this case was GG.

 **Warnings:** Spoliers for "A Man Walks Into a Bar"

 **A/N:** This is the last chapter for my verison of "A Man Walks Into a Bar" for this verse. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll be seeing Rachel again ;) **  
**

 **Guest-** _Thank you! I love the teasing side of Tony and Natalie's relationship. It makes it feel more natural and easy. Abby and Natalie are going to grow closer together now._

 **amaia-** _I will be writing about Tony finding that tattoo, but it didn't quite go with the mood of this chapter. Tony, McGee, and Natalie's dynamic is a mixture of what we saw with Kate, Ziva, and Ellie. Just taking some of the things that i really enjoyed about all those different dynamics and writing it into this one._

* * *

"How is the ying to my yang this afternoon?" Tony teased as he sat down with Natalie in the break room. "Or are you the yang to my ying?"

"Still trying to figure out if I got that tattoo or not huh?" Natalie inquired, grinning. "McGee said you were yapping about it non-stop when you went to see Abby about that adhesive found on Commander Reynolds' hand."

Tony playfully frowned. "You're really going to make me find it myself?"

Natalie nodded and continued to eat her salad. "Where is the fun in all this if I _tell_ you what it is… _if_ I got one at all?"

He scowled. "You're lucky you're cute."

She smiled. "I know."

Tony made a noise that was between a growl and a squeak; she wasn't sure what she would call it. He leaned in closer to her, his lips just mere inches from hers. "What if I can't wait for us to get home? Maybe I want to find an empty room and go exploring for that tattoo right this very second."

Natalie's pupils dilated, slightly, but she continued to smile, sweetly. "Abby told me that you had a thing for ink. I wasn't sure I believed her at first… but now that I see you're drooling… guess she was right."

Grabbing her face between her hands, Tony kissed her—hard. It was always a challenge cooling his attraction for her when they were at work but today she was pushing the limits and driving him absolutely crazy. He _needed_ to find out if she had that tattoo or not… _right now._ Gasping, he pulled back and grabbed at her hands, "Closet… now," he whispered. "Before I decide to just take you right here…"

"DiNozzo."

"Sorry, boss," Tony sighed, backing away from Natalie, "I know…discretion."

"Uh-huh, but that's not why I'm here," Gibbs said. "Need you to come with me back to the _Colonial._ "

Tony stood and fixed his suit, hoping the slight bulge in his pants wasn't too obvious. "On your six, boss."

Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah, don't say that too loudly when your pants are that tight—or people are going to talk."

Natalie laughed as Tony stood there, mouth open slightly in shock.

Tony threw her a dirty look as if to tell her this was her fault.

Gibbs simply gestured for him to follow, "Let's go lover boy. I haven't got all day."

* * *

His jovial mood was severely dampened by the time they sat down on the _Colonial._ Gibbs had informed him that Reynolds and Mrs. Hargrove did indeed have a relationship, but it was mostly while her husband was away. There would never be anything else. To top it off…Reynolds was being asked to retire from the Navy.

 _A man worked his whole life and had nothing to show for it,_ Tony thought, glumly. Natalie, it turned out, was right. Reynolds had committed suicide. Someone had covered it up to make it look like a murder.

Tony had been suddenly subdued, forgetting about the possibility of finding Natalie's tattoo later… how close had he been to becoming like Reynolds? He had devoted his entire life to the job… and up until recently had shied away from any kind of romantic relationship that might lead to a wife and children someday. _Might?_ He thought, feeling slightly better, as he thought Natalie moving in with him, buying the house with him, _will._

Gibbs did most of the talking with the two sailors that had staged Reynolds death to look like a murder. They wanted him to have some kind of dignity… he should be remembered for his work and not how he died.

He spent the ride back to the Navy Yard trying to wrap his brain around the turn of events, and just couldn't.

Pulling open the drawer to where Reynolds' body was being stored, Tony pulled the sheet back and looked down at the man's face.

"What do you see, when you look at him?" Cranston's voice asked, cutting through the silence.

Tony looked up at her, unaware that she even entered the room. "A man works his whole, dedicates himself to the job and has nothing to show for it."

Cranston studied him for a moment. "How does that make you _feel_?

"Afraid," he said without hesitation. "I'm a good agent, Dr. Cranston, a damn good one."

"I know," she agreed, "and so do a lot of others."

 _"How was I supposed to know what you were planning?"_

 _"Well, we're a team, Kate. You were supposed to follow my lead."_

 _"Oh, even when I don't know where it's going?"_

 _"Especially then."_

"But," Cranston said, pulling him from his memory of Kate in South America, "you can be more. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Tony knew that it was true; Gibbs, Natalie… they all believed he could be more… _Kate. She was always riding me, pushing me to be better, to better myself._ Suddenly, he saw it. He didn't need Rachel to say what she said next to confirm it.

Rachel smiled, "Maybe Agent Todd was hard on you because she knew what you were really capable of. Too bad she never got a chance to tell you that."

He felt his heart warm and returned her smile. "I think I just realized who you are, Rachel."

She knew eventually he would figure it out. "My sister would be proud of you, Tony. You've changed… for the better."

"It took me a long time to get over her death," Tony confessed. "Felt guilty."

"Survivor's guilt," Rachel offered.

"Yes, and that I couldn't stop it. I failed her as a partner."

"Is that why you're so incredibly protective of Natalie?"

Tony's jaw clenched and he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I love her. If anything were to happen to her because of my failure—I'd die right along with her."

Rachel nodded in understanding. "A part of you died when Kate was killed. So didn't a piece of me, Agent DiNozzo. She was my baby sister; I couldn't bring myself to the funeral—it hurt too much."

He thought about her words, recalling that he didn't see her at Kate's funeral. Of course, Gibbs had barely made it at the time and he had his theories on where the boss had been… "I doubt Kate would have minded. She probably would have understood."

She blinked back her tears before leaving him. "And she would have understood that there was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened to her."

Leaving him standing alone underneath a single light autopsy, Tony contemplated her words. He finally felt a sense of peace washing over him when it came to Kate's death. Armed with this new peace, he pulled the sheet back over Reynolds' face and silently closed the morgue drawer. He needed to find Natalie because he no longer was so afraid of working his whole life, devoting himself for the job, and having nothing to show for it.

* * *

Exhausted, and unable to find Tony, Natalie grabbed her gear and decided to take a cab home. She knew that he'd eventually find his way home— _probably wanting to look for that tattoo._

As she approached the elevator, she was slightly taken off guard—only warned by the faint smell of Tony's cologne, before he swept her into his arms and kissed her. "What was that for?" she asked, pulling away.

Tony pressed his lips to hers, hungrily. "For giving me a reason for living," he whispered.

Natalie was startled by his words and immediately her heart started to beat madly in her chest. "Tony… you're scaring me. It sounds like… it sounds like before me… you had _nothing_ to live for."

"Pieces of me have died over the years—taken from me as people have left—Wendy, Kate, Jeanne… even Ziva," Tony said. "I was left wondering for a long time if anyone would come along and give me a sense of belonging. NCIS was a job, a job I'm good at, but it never gave me a sense of belonging to someone."

"Did you… did you ever think about… suicide?" Natalie asked, timidly. She had seen good cops work their careers, never looking or wanting more, only to end their own lives towards the end because they had nothing once the job was gone.

His green eyes filled with despair and he slowly nodded is head. "Yeah… but something… always pulled me back. At first I thought it was Gibbs and the team, now I wonder if it was a stronger force telling me to just hold out longer… that you were coming into my life and making it worth living again."

Her vision blurred as tears gathered in her eyes. "Oh, Tony," she sighed, sadly. "I only wish I had come here sooner." She knew he had been _her_ life savior, giving her a sense of value—but she never realized she did the same for him, that she saved him and gave him a sense of belonging. All he had ever wanted, apparently, was someone to love and take care of and that loved him in return.

"Come on," Tony said, releasing her from his arms and taking her hand. "I'll take you home."

"Wait… did you finally talk to Dr. Cranston?" Natalie asked as her fingers laced through his.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. She made me release what a savior you've been for me. I'd been drowning, slowly, since Kate's death… until I met you."

Natalie could see the change in him. He had finally found peace. "I'm glad you finally understand that her death wasn't your fault."

He smiled and pressed the button for the elevator. "It only took five years and Kate's sister waking me up…"

She was confused. "Kate's sister?"

"Rachel."

"Dr. Cranston?"

Tony laughed, softly. "Small world, huh?"

Natalie stepped into the elevator him and was immediately wrapped up into his arm, like a protective cocoon. "Yes," she whispered, "small world."

* * *

Gibbs had pulled her, literally, down into his basement and stood her at the far end of the room. She was obviously still trying to find closure when it came to her sister's death, just speaking to the team had not been enough. "Do you feel that?" he quipped.

Rachel was confused. "Feel what?" she asked. After he had discovered her, asleep behind what used to be Kate's desk, they had talked about closure. She admitted that the team, Gibbs, seemed to be doing better at moving on than she was. That was when he had brought her here, to his home, to his basement.

"There, right there, where you're standing right now, is where Kate's murderer died," Gibbs said. "Where Ziva shot her own brother—that Doc, that's closure." He clearly remembered Ari standing on that very spot, aiming his own sniper rifle at him. _He was about to pull the trigger when Ziva fired from the staircase._ He put his hands on Rachel's shoulders. "Now the rest is just memories. Ain't nothing wrong with memory."

"Never went to the funeral," Rachel told him, just like she told Tony hours before, "Just couldn't do it."

"Families all grieve in different ways," Gibbs observed.

"Let me ask you a question, Gibbs, see if you can answer. A man walks into a bar, asks the bartender for a glass of water. Bartender pulls out a shotgun, fires a blast just missing the man. The man says 'thank you', puts a tip on the bar and exits. Why the 'thank you' and the tip?" Rachel inquired.

Gibbs thought about it for a brief moment, and then laughed, "The guy had the hiccups!"

She stepped over to the workbench, and leaned up against it beside Gibbs. "It's all about responses, Gibbs. You, Vance, your agents. Why keep things bottled up inside? The largest response seems appropriate."

He looked up and away, as he so often did when he doesn't have an answer, and in that moment, Gibbs didn't have one. He probably never would.

* * *

 _Director Vance: Spending time with your team has been enlightening, to say the least. In clinical terms, they're a disaster. But their selfless dysfunction is ultimately why it works. It's clear to me we all react to life's challenges in different ways; your people are no exception. Some fight death, and some embrace its solace. Some recognize their fate. And others do whatever is necessary to alter it. Sometimes we defy others expectations. And occasionally we rise to meet them. But the constant is being true to ourselves. We do what we have to when we have to. We react, for better or worse. It's why your team succeeds. But be careful. Eventually it might catch up to you_


	35. Exploration

**Warnings:** Chapter is mostly smut, no spoilers though!

 **A/N:** Like I warned this chapter is mostly smutty, so if not your thing you can skip it without missing too much. Next case will start in the next chapter :)

* * *

For a while he had forgotten about the tattoo. They had dinner at their favorite restaurant on their way home and then on the drive back to their apartment, it jumped to the front of his brain once again. Somewhere underneath those gray slacks and navy blue sweater was a tattoo that was dying to be revealed. Tony just knew it and he was determined to find it when they got home.

Tony gently laid Natalie down onto their bed. Slowly, he undid the buttons on her blouse and pushed it open. His fingertips ghosted their way up her ribcage as his lips sought hers in a languid kiss. He moved one hand up to caress a breast concealed by ivory lace and felt her moan against his mouth.

Natalie arched into his gentle touches, gasping as she finally broke the kiss. She knew that she could easily tell him where the tattoo was… but it was much more enjoyable having him explore her body this way. He brought his lips to hers again, drawing her tongue into his mouth and deepening the embrace.

His adept fingers unlatched the front closure on her bra and he slid the cups aside, off her breasts. Releasing her sweet tasting mouth, Tony moved down her neck until he came to her breast and slowly pulled it into his mouth. His tongue licked and sucked, his teeth nibbled at her skin and nipple… all while she writhed beneath him, moaning his name.

"I was hoping that tattoo would be underneath that bra," Tony murmured, his breath hot on her skin.

"That would have made it too easy," Natalie purred, smiling at him seductively.

Growling, Tony pulled her up into a sitting position, mouth descending on hers once again. This time he kissed her roughly, tearing at the blouse until it was off and tossing it against the wall. The bra was next. When the need for air broke them apart, Tony moved his mouth over her collarbone, tracing a circle in the hollow of her neck with his tongue, before going lower and taking her other breast into his mouth.

Natalie gripped his shoulders and closed her eyes, completely letting the sensations overtake her. The scent of Old Spice filled her nostrils as her head fell backwards, a breathy sigh leaving her lips.

Tony continued to work each breast, while his hands roamed over her slick skin, tracing the soft curves and muscles of her body. Unbuttoning her dress pants, Tony slipped a hand inside, reaching down to cup her mound through her panties. "God, Nat," he moaned, feeling how wet they were, "I've barely even touched you…"

She smiled, her lust filled eyes sparkling with a bit of seductive mischief. "Maybe I'm just as turned on as you are about finding this tattoo."

He rubbed her through the damp fabric, causing her to pant and moan. "Good, because I want to make you come over and over again tonight while I explore…"

"Yes, _please,_ Tony," she whimpered, grinding against his hand.

"Mmmm… what do you want? Tell me…" Tony said almost breathlessly while he continued to rub her most sensitive spot through her panties. "Tell me…"

Natalie gasped and dug her finger nails into his shoulders, rocking her hips against him as the pressure built up inside of her. "Make me… make me come, Tony."

Tony groaned hearing her say it and slipped his fingers underneath the lacy panties and found the spot where she was aching for him to touch. He gently slipped two fingers inside of her, shuddering at the loud moan that she released and feeling her tightness around him. Slowly he began to stroke her and using his other hand, he pulled her closer to him to claim her mouth. He felt her tongue slip between his lips, seeking his and the erotic dance they did. Tony kept applying the right amount of pressure to her clit, feeling and hearing her moans while they kissed passionately.

She was gasping now, breaking them apart as she rocked back and forth on his long fingers pleasuring her. Gray eyes filled with lust fluttered close, her lashes fanning out over flushed cheeks.

He knew how close she was, he could feel her tightening more and more around him. Pressing soft kisses over her damp shoulders, he growled, "Let go, Natalie. Come…come for me…"

"Anthony!" She cried out as her release took her, sending her body on a ride of wave after wave of ecstasy.

"Mmmm, that's it, Natalie," Tony murmured, drowning out her final cries with a kiss. "So hot…"

Natalie fell back against the pillows, her pants hanging off her hips, half naked. She was breathing hard and gazing at him with a fire in her eyes.

Tony grinned and removed his hand from her body, gently pushing her pants down to her ankles and sliding them off. He slid back up her body and kissed her stomach, his tongue swirling around in her navel, and then pressed a kiss to each hip, finishing up with the inside of each thigh. The scent of her filled his space and he felt the throbbing in his pants as his erection begged him to be released. _Not yet,_ he willed himself to slow down. He wasn't quite done exploring her body yet.

His thumbs hooked the band of her lacy black panties and his heart hammered against his ribs. Dear God, if that tattoo was anywhere underneath that skimpy piece of underwear he might very well explode…

She was watching him underneath heavy lidded eyes. Her tongue flicked out and licked her lips …

Tony growled when the skin was smooth and untouched. His cock was throbbing; he was dying for release but not yet… he hadn't found that blasted tattoo yet. Gently he pushed her legs apart, revealing her warm, sweet heat to his eyes. Immediately her scent filled the room and Tony wasted no time burying his face between her thighs.

Her breath hitched as his tongue pushed inside of her. It didn't take her long to come undone in his arms this time. Panting and trying to gain some bearing, Natalie reached for the button on his pants. She didn't want to wait for him anymore…

"Oh no," Tony chuckled. "I haven't found it yet, beautiful. Roll over…"

"Tony," Natalie whined as she did so, "Please… I don't want to wait for you anymore…"

He pushed her long brown hair aside and sighed, huskily when the tattoo was _finally_ revealed to him. It was small and delicate, would hardly ever been seen unless she wore revealing clothing… it wasn't loud and obvious like Abby's tats.

Tony scooted closer to her on the bed, his fingertips gently touching the still slightly irritated skin around the small cherry blossom branch. He let his hands roam over her naked body, cupping her butt before he laid flushed against her, pressing the shoulder with the tattoo into his chest. His fingers slid between their bodies and found her moist center, stroking slowly.

Natalie pushed back against him. She could feel his hard member even though it was still concealed by his pants. It only heightened the desire as he stroked her bringing her to the edge and pushing her over it once more. As she came down from her third mind blowing orgasm, she was aware that he was no longer laying against her. Sitting up she found him striping of his clothes, finally freeing his erection from the tight confines of his pants.

Climbing back onto the bed with her, he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her against him, her back firmly planted against his strong chest. He brought his lips softly to her right shoulder, "Is this for my eyes only…"

She reached back and snaked an arm around his neck, pulling his lips closer to her own. "Yes. For your eyes only…"

"Makes it even sexier," Tony murmured before pressing his lips just beneath her ear. "Mmmm… I need you…"

"Good because I need you too," Natalie purred, rising up on her knees and starting to turn her body to face him.

He gripped her waist and held her tightly in place. Softly he pressed another kiss to the fresh tattoo on her shoulder, and then added a few more across her back, before huskily whispering, "No. Back to me, so I can see that beautiful tattoo—caress it, kiss it while making love to you…"

She felt her heart slam against her ribcage, rapidly. Moving forward so he could sit up on his knees. She didn't move again until she felt his hands on her hips, guiding her into position. She straddled him, her legs spread wide on either side of his knees and with his help, lowered herself around him.

Tony moaned, low in his throat as her silky folds wrapped around his hard shaft. He encircled his arms around her waist, pressing her closely to him and filling his hands with her breasts. He was buried deep within her now and rocked his hips forward slightly, pressing his lips to that tattoo only for his eyes.

Natalie gasped at the sensation of him moving inside of her. Pushing back with her hips, she matched his pace, slowly rocking her body over his. Short breaths puffed out of her as Tony's fingers pinched and tweaked her nipples and his lips roamed over her shoulder blades, the pressure changing as he went—nibbling, sucking at skin not marked—feather like kisses over and around her tattoo. She wasn't sure which was driving her crazier…

"Oh this feels so good," Tony panted, picking up the speed of his thrusts. "So…so good."

"Just… just like that," Natalie sighed, her eyes slipping shut. She arched her back and reached her left arm around his neck. Her hand dived into the hair at the nape of his neck and she began to knead and massage his scalp. "Don't stop…"

All speaking to each other ceased after that. The only sounds in the room was the creak of the mattress underneath their furious movements intermingled with their heavy breathing, grunts, and moans of bliss.

Tony moved his mouth over her salty skin, his hands roamed freely over her highly sensitive body, until they stopped at her hips to give him stability to thrust up inside of her hard and steady. Electric jolts shot through him as she met those rapid thrusts, arching and pushing her hips back.

Natalie couldn't even think straight she was so lost in this primal, pleasure filled haze. She didn't much care. It was amazing that something as simple as getting inked was leading to one of their most intense sexual encounters.

Her intense emotions surprised her slightly but she welcomed it. Feeling his strong body behind her, pumping into her and having her body wrapped around him this way made all those trips to Yoga class worth it. Every nerve ending inside of her was firing on all cylinders, leading her to what was going to be her most powerful orgasm yet…

His lips continued to kiss her tattoo gently, the only gentle thing he was doing at this point as he drove into her roughly. All his synapses were engaging… a fire spreading throughout his body knowing that _he_ would be the only man to ever make love to her this way… the only man to be _allowed_ to make love to her this way. It was as if she was letting him completely claim her as his.

Natalie's only thoughts were consumed by the extreme pleasure he was giving her. She saw the room spin just before it shattered. In an instant her body began to tremble and shudder. She came with a loud, husky cry that reached the ceiling and she clutched at him almost desperately as wave after wave of intense pleasure crashed over her.

Tony could feel the tingle at the base of his spine that started when her muscles started to tighten and contract around his cock. It only took one more deep, hard thrust, and his orgasm ripped through him with a primal energy and a guttural scream.

Drained of all energy, they collapsed onto the mattress, a sweaty mess of tangled limbs. They landed on their sides, legs wrapped around each other and his arms clasping her waist. Kissing her shoulder blades gently once more, Tony carefully removed himself from her body but did not bother untangling them. He liked having her wrapped around him like a silk robe…

Tony panted against her shoulder, breathing in the mixture of scents coming off of her skin—lavender, sweat, sex and antiseptic so her tattoo wouldn't get infected—and chuckled, low in his throat. "Wow."

Still in a bit of a haze, Natalie reached and found the hand that was resting on her hip. She grasped it and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Wow is right…" she sighed.

"We'll definitely be doing _that_ again," Tony said, nuzzling her neck.

"Glad we agree," Natalie replied, catching her breath.

Sighing, he kissed her one more time, whispering, "I love you," as he drifted off to sleep.

Closing her eyes, she murmured back that she loved him too and soon was fast asleep with him, feeling safe in his arms.

* * *

The smell of bacon cooking woke her up the next morning. Natalie was lying flat on her stomach and stretched her aching muscles with a small smile. Burrowing against the pillows she could still smell the evidence that Tony had been there, his musky scent mixed with Old Spice…

Natalie opened her eyes when she heard the bedroom door open. Rolling over onto her back she watched as Tony carried a tray with breakfast on it. Her stomach grumbled as the smell of bacon, eggs and coffee over took the room. Pulling the soft sheets up around her naked body, she smiled at him. "Breakfast in bed. I chose the right man."

Tony set the tray down in front of her and climbed onto the bed. He pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "You definitely picked the right man," he teased. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning, handsome," she sighed as he stretched out, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"I trust that you slept well," Tony said, kissing her shoulder while she sipped her coffee.

"Very well," Natalie replied. She nibbled at the bacon, offering him some. "But I always sleep well in your arms."

Tony softly thread his fingers through her hair, eating the bacon that she had given him. "You do?" he questioned.

Natalie snuggled against him. "Yes because I feel safe and protected."

He ran his thumb along her cheek. "You are always safe and protected with me, Natalie. Always."

She smiled, lovingly, up at him. "I know."

Careful not to spill her breakfast, Tony took her in his arms and kissed her. He knew that she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, but he loved that he provided her with those feelings. It was something that had been lacking in his past relationships—none of those women accepted the fact that he was a little bit more old fashioned, that he wanted to be the one to provide safety for the woman he loved…

Natalie pulled back and attacked her breakfast. She was hungry and they did not have a lot of time before they had to get to work, even though Gibbs had given them the morning off.

Tony gave her another kiss on her cheek before he slipped out of bed and found some clean clothes. Pulling on the jeans and simple blue button down shirt, he watched her eat, how the sunlight reflected in her hair. "You're the prettiest sight I've woken up too, ever."

"I'm devouring food right now. How is that pretty?"

"Believe me, it is."

"Well, I'm glad you think is."

He laughed, softly and found his cologne. "Abby is going to ask if I found the tattoo."

She grinned at him, coyly. "So… tell her you did."

Tony continued to gaze at her, wishing they had a bit more time before they had to head into work. "She's going to want all the details."

Natalie ran her tongue over her lips, pushed the tray away from her and climbed out of bed. She fluffed her hair, letting it fall gracefully down her naked back. "Give them to her then."

"You're a naughty little vixen this morning, Miss Callahan."

"Just this morning?"

"Are you going to work dressed like that?" Tony teased her.

"Wouldn't you like that," Natalie teased back as she headed towards the bathroom.

Tony chuckled as he grabbed the tray, returning it to the kitchen as the shower came on. He quickly discarded the tray, and then his clothes, sauntering into the bathroom with her. They were just going to have to be late for work today.


	36. Assignment

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** This verse has my attention this week. More to come later! Happy Sunday!

* * *

Tony and Natalie were not the only ones late for work because they were making love in the shower—McGee was also late due to his girlfriend going out of town that morning and wanting some morning sex before leaving.

Gibbs was smirking knowingly when all three agents arrived in the bullpen. "Is everyone satisfied this morning?" All three of them went pale, eyes darting between each other as Gibbs chuckled. "Glad you didn't keep me waiting much longer… it would have been hard to explain to the SecNav why my team wasn't here. Doubt he would have liked the answer that you were all off getting laid."

"SecNav is here?" Tony choked out, trying to ignore the fact that Gibbs was making jokes about their sex lives. "Why?"

"Didn't say. Just said he wanted to meet with all of us," Gibbs replied, gesturing for them to follow. "Let's go."

Tony dropped his gear by his desk and lead his partners up the stairs. His curiosity was peaked. They very rarely received a visit from the SecNav. "He doesn't want us to participate in another war game, does he?" the senior field agent asked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Because that went so well the last time."

Natalie glanced at Tim, who winced subconsciously. She could surmise what had happened during that assignment since it was before her time. From the sounds and looks of it, it had not gone great. "Are we in trouble, Gibbs?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No," he said. "Got the impression he had some kind of assignment for us."

"It's unfortunate we have to take it," Tony mumbled as Gibbs strode into Vance's secretary's office.

"They inside Pamela?" the team leader asked.

Pamela nodded her head. "Yes, Director Vance is meeting with Secretary Davenport and Mr. Stone."

Gibbs paused before knocking. "Mr. Stone?"

"Press secretary for Senator Adams," Pamela responded, "Apparently the Senator's daughter ran away with a sailor."

"For crying out loud," Gibbs grumbled as he opened the door to Vance's office.

Vance looked up. "Brock Stone, this is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," he introduced, used to Gibbs barging in by now. "He's the lead agent of my best team."

Brock Stone was a young, well-built man. It was easy to tell he worked out, maybe excessively. He had bleach blonde hair, wore a suit that rivaled Tony's in price and had dimples when he smiled. "Heard a lot about your team, Special Agent Gibbs. The Secretary of the Navy was just talking about your work. Sounds like you're the man for the job."

Gibbs eyed Davenport for a moment. "What exactly is the job, sir?"

Davenport sipped his drink. "Senator Adams' daughter, sixteen, ran off with her eighteen-year-old boyfriend who's a Firstie at the Naval Academy. I don't have to tell you what's going to happen to that boy's spot at the Academy if he doesn't return soon, and the Senator would like to keep this out of the papers."

"Where does the Senator think they've gone?"

"Boston," Stone replied. "The young man is the son of Henry Samuel."

"Henry Samuel?" Natalie repeated.

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"Henry Samuel is one of Boston's biggest tycoons. He's worth millions of dollars," Natalie answered, looking at Gibbs.

Tony noticed the tension in Natalie's shoulders. "I know that name. He's one of the city's biggest philanthropists."

Natalie nodded. "Yes, but you probably know the name because Henry Samuel was investigated for the murder of his wife, put on trial, and acquitted."

Gibbs remembered reading about that in the newspapers. It had been one of the hottest trials of that year. "Did you investigate it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I was just a rookie cop, but my partner and I responded to the 911 call."

"What can we expect from this family, Nat?" Tony inquired.

"Headaches," Natalie replied. "That wasn't… that wasn't the only time I was at their house. The son became a bit of a behavior problem after his mother was killed. Mr. Samuel pulled some strings to get the boy into the Naval Academy."

Tony knew all about that. His father had pulled strings to get him into the military high school in Rhode Island. "What should we do, boss?"

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment. "Sounds like you and Natalie are going to Boston. Interview the detectives from the original case, find out if there's been trouble at the Samuel house lately, anything to suggest why the boy would run away with his girlfriend this time."

Stone smiled at the lead agent. "Looks like Senator Adams' picked the right team to do the job, Agent Gibbs. He'll be pleased to know that someone has insider knowledge involved in the investigation."

Vance scowled. " _I_ picked the team, Mr. Stone. As for Miss Callahan, she was a top detective in the Boston PD, and is one of my best agents. Regardless of her _insider knowledge,_ I'd place her on this case."

Natalie appreciated the Director's vote of confidence in her, but she had no desire to go back to the Boston PD and ask questions. She hadn't left things in the best of standing, after all she had been forced from her job because of a combination of emotional abuse and an obsession with finding a serial killer. "Tony and I should probably leave as soon as possible, sir."

"McGee, make sure they get the first flight out of D.C to Boston that they can," Vance ordered. "Agent DiNozzo, Agent Callahan, I trust that you will act discreetly."

"Yes sir," Tony assured him. He led Natalie out of the office, briefly catching Gibbs' eyes. In that brief look the senior field agent knew that Gibbs had seen Natalie's silent distress about returning home.

* * *

Natalie fidgeted in her seat. They were on the plane, waiting to taxi out onto the runway. The last time she had stepped foot in her precinct in Boston her captain had told her to take a leave and get her head on straight. That was when she had dived into the serial killer case that led her to D.C, when she had unknowingly found the place that was going to help her heal.

Tony's hand suddenly covered hers. She stopped her fidgeting and looked at him. His green eyes were studying her, concerned for her. "I know this isn't easy for you," he said, gently. "But I'm right here, okay?"

"Have you ever been back to any department you've worked for?" Natalie asked him, seriously.

"No. I walked away and never looked back," Tony stated.

"Would you go back?"

"Only in a situation like this—when I'm being asked too."

Natalie looked out the window and swallowed. "When I left I wasn't in the best place. My captain had his concerns that I was burning out, that I wasn't meant for the job. I went to D.C to prove to him that I _was_ meant for the job… and I ended up not leaving Washington."

Tony smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "And for that, I'm very grateful. I'm sure Gibbs and McGee are grateful as well, but you know, I have my reasons."

She laughed and turned her face towards, realizing how close his lips were to hers. Eagerly she pressed her mouth to his and kissed him, hard, briefly. "I'm grateful I stayed too. You know… for reasons."

He let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her, drawing her close until her head rested against his shoulder. Tony planted a soft kiss on forehead. When they got to Boston they would have to be professional, separate their personal feelings for each other from the job. The closer they got, however, the harder that was becoming.

"I told my parents we were going to be in town," Natalie said, interrupting his thoughts. "If we can spare the time, they want to see us."

"I think we can squeeze a lunch in," Tony said with a smile. "Heard there are a lot of good Italian places in Boston."

Natalie wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. She was unsettled about going back to Boston, but at least she had her knight in shining armor to protect her. _Or my knight in a sharp Armani suit,_ she thought with a silent laugh.

Tony rubbed her back and sucked in a deep breath of her scent. In little less than an hour they would be landing at Logan, they just didn't know the firestorm they were going to be walking into.

* * *

Tim popped down to the lab with a Caf-Pow for Abby. Gibbs had the unfortunate task of meeting with the Senator and until his partners arrived in Boston, there wasn't much for Tim to do in this case. "Hey. What are you up too?"

Abby smiled at him. "I'm pretending to be a profiler since ours is in mid-air right now. I pulled up Lucy Adams social media pages. On the outside she seems like a typical teenage girl—that likes to party."

"Oh, I bet that went over well with her father," Tim mused.

"Now that you mention it, it did not," Abby said. "Lucy talks about her dad threatening to send her off to boarding school, summer camps, you know to get her away from all the partying. And he did not like her boyfriend."

Tim nodded, recalling what Natalie had said upstairs. "I get the impression that the Samuel family is not well liked, even if they do donate a lot of money."

Abby chuckled. "Donations do not buy you good social standing, at least not in this case. Appears that a lot of people in Boston still seem to think that Henry Samuel killed his wife."

"Anything on Trevor Samuel?" Tim asked.

"He hated the Naval Academy. Blamed his dad for just about everything," Abby said.

"Do you think he blames his dad for his mother's death?"

"I got that impression."

"So why are they going to Boston?"

Abby shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Lucy hasn't been seen since Saturday night. Metro investigated but determined that she ran away. That's when the Senator called the SecNav and got NCIS involved. He thinks that Lucy is with Trevor."

Tim felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Gibbs name flash across the screen. "Got to go, Abs! Looks like Gibbs is out of his meeting. Keep me posted." He darted out of the lab and into the elevator. "Hey, boss, I was just checking in with Abby…"

Gibbs sounded somber on the other end of the line, " _Grab your gear, Tim. We have a crime scene to investigate."_

* * *

Tony knew something was off the moment they stepped out onto the curb at Logan International Airport. Natalie raised her hand to signal for a taxi, her badge flashed in the sun and it acted as some kind of signal for the swarm of reporters that rushed at them.

Natalie was caught off guard, stumbling backwards slightly as microphones and recorders were shoved in their faces. _So much for being discrete,_ she thought as a million questions were fired at her.

"We don't have any comment at this time," Tony snapped when the cab pulled up. He wrestled his way through and got the door open, pushing Natalie and their go-bags into the backseat.

"NCIS doesn't want to comment on the fact that Lucy Adams was found dead, a mile from the Naval Academy?"

Tony reared back, shock clearly evidence on his face, and looked at the reporter that had asked the question. "What?"

Immediately the reporter's eyes went wide, realizing that she had broken the news to the two agents that had been on a plane and had not checked in with their superiors yet. "Lucy Adams' body was found over an hour ago. Secretary Davenport has promised a press conference, but our readers would like to hear from NCIS."

Natalie poked her head out of the cab and tugged on Tony's suit coat. It pulled him from his haze and he shook his head, "Right now, NCIS does not have anything to share with the public. This is an on-going murder investigation."

"Are you here because you believe Trevor Samuel killed her?"

"Again, on-going investigation. Until we have more, NCIS is not going to comment."

The crowd of reporters burst into a frenzy as Tony climbed back into the cab and slammed the door shut. He told the driver to take them to their hotel and then glanced at his partner with a frown. "So much for being discrete."


	37. More Questions Than Answers

**Warnings:** None for this chapter

 **A/N:** Here's another chapter. There might be one more this week. Enjoy!

* * *

Snowflakes danced across the sky, making the Prudential nothing but a hazy outline against the Boston skyline.

Natalie stood at the large window in their Back Bay hotel, arms crossed, watching the snow fly. Upon checking in, Tony had contacted Gibbs to get an update. The team leader had ordered them to stay at the hotel until the morning. Already the media was clamoring for information; Gibbs didn't want to throw Tony and Natalie back to the wolves without information. After waiting around all day in the hotel room, Tony was getting restless… especially when they didn't get any more calls from Gibbs.

To quell his restlessness, Tony had showered, shaved, and changed into a tee shirt and light gray sweatpants. He was startled to find Natalie in the same spot he had left her when he went into the shower. "Nat?"

She didn't move or respond to him. Tony threw his damp towel in the corner and moved towards her. Gently he placed his hands on her shoulders, startling her. When she saw that it was Tony, she calmed immediately. "Sorry," Natalie whispered, "guess I was daydreaming."

He pulled her closer to him, searching her eyes. "About what?" Tony asked, clearly concerned. This trip was going to be difficult for her, but he hoped it would help her put the past here behind her for good.

"A lot of things," Natalie confessed. "Mostly about my last day here."

"And?" Tony encouraged her. "What about that last day are you thinking about?"

"Sitting on that plane, never wanting to come back," she confessed. "I needed to start over, why not D.C?"

Tony pushed the hair out of her face. "Did you even have a return ticket to Boston? Or were you planning on staying in D.C until you found a job?"

Natalie looked at her feet. "I never purchased a return ticket. Boston didn't feel like home anymore, even though my parents and my brother were still here. A part of me was slaughtered here. I knew if I went back to Boston it was just going to consume me."

He laid a soft kiss on her forehead. "I bet you'll feel better after a hot shower. I'll call room service, maybe we can order a movie and just relax. Tomorrow you know we'll be in the thick of it."

She grabbed a fistful of his tee shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. Breaking away from him, she let her lips linger over his for a moment. "Don't start dinner without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tony teased.

"I won't be long," Natalie informed him, grabbing what she needed from her go-bag and heading into the bathroom.

As she shut the door, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was a bit wild from the cold wind and wispy pieces were in her eyes. _He hated when your hair was out of place. Tony loves it. That's more important._

Natalie shook the bad memories away, or tried too at least, but as she changed out of her clothes into her lounge pants and camisole, they kept assaulting her to the point she could not stop her tears. Abandoning her work outfit in the bathroom, she fled the room, coming to stand at the foot of bed in a flurry of tears.

Tony was on his feet immediately, gathering her close and letting her cry on his shoulder. "It's okay," he told her, softly. "Talk to me, Natalie, tell me…"

"I was never pretty enough," Natalie whimpered. "I was too fat, my face was too plain, my hair was like a rat's nest."

"Shhh," Tony hushed her. "You are not too fat, you're the most beautiful women I have ever met, and I love your unruly hair."

Immediately, she felt all her fears from the past melt away in his arms. Her mother was right—she had just needed to find the right man to love her, to show her that she was worth it. Tony had done that. It had taken her a few years to finally get to this point, but Natalie was grateful that she was _finally_ there. "What did you order me for dinner?"

Tony chuckled and rubbed her back. "A large pepperoni pizza and chocolate cake."

Natalie sighed and smiled against his chest. "My favorite comfort food."

"Well, given everything that has happened today, I figured you would need some comfort food."

"Any kind of food would have been fine—as long as you were here."

"I know that tomorrow is going to be a rough day. I want tonight to be… easy."

"Nothing is easier than pizza and chocolate cake."

He kissed her tenderly and with a smile. "I absolutely agree."

She pulled back and grasped his hands tightly. "When I first moved back in with parents, my mom kept telling me that there was a man out there that was going to love me, flaws and all."

Tony gazed at her, lovingly. It was easy to love her, even with all her so-called flaws, because she loved him back and he knew he wasn't flawless. If he could ease some of her fears about being back in Boston, maybe help her regain some love for her city again, he would be happy. Tomorrow as going to prove to be tough, not just for them, but for the entire team.

* * *

Gibbs managed to drive the car up to the Adams' home in Virginia _without_ hurting any of the reporters camped out front. It solidified his decision to order Tony and Natalie to stay in the hotel room until they had further information. While Tony had done a decent job dealing with the reporters, the team leader did not want to leave him out to dry the next time the SFA had to deal with them.

Parking the car, Gibbs shut it down and peered at the house. On the outside it looked like a happy home, stately brick, white trim, and a beautiful fenced in yard. He knew that this house had secrets to tell.

He pulled his trench coat tight to his body, and made his way to the front door. Gibbs rang the doorbell and took a deep breath to prepare himself for this interview. He wasn't surprised when Senator Adams' aide, Brock Stone, answered the door.

"Special Agent Gibbs, the Senator and Mrs. Adams have been waiting for you," Stone informed him.

"I wish I was stopping by under better circumstances," Gibbs said as he was lead through the ornate house. He noticed that the kitchen island was covered in vases of flowers. "Seems like the Adams have a lot of support."

Stone shrugged his shoulders. "Most of those flowers are courtesy ones from other Senators."

Gibbs brow furrowed. Even in death politics were still at play. He took another deep breath as he stepped into a den. Stone announced him to the Senator and his wife. He was quite surprised to see that the wife was _much_ younger than the middle aged Senator, and she had a toddler on her lap.

David Adams was tall and well dressed. There were hints of make-up on his face from the countless interviews he had done that morning alone on his daughter's murder. "Agent Gibbs, would you like a drink?"

"No sir, thank you for the offer," Gibbs said, politely. "I will only be taking a few moments of your time."

"Suppose you have questions," Adams said with a slight nod.

"A few," Gibbs stated. "You were the one that reported your daughter missing Friday night?"

"No, my wife did," Adams responded.

"David was out of town for the evening," Alexandra Adams interjected. "I was concerned when Lucy didn't come home."

Gibbs turned his gaze upon the young woman. She was perfectly done up, fancy suit, no hair out of place… "Was this unusual for Lucy?"

Alexandra shook her head. "No, Lucy has always been… troubled."

Adams sighed, heavily, "It started when her mother died, Agent Gibbs. She was very young."

"Did you get along with your stepdaughter?" Gibbs asked Alexandra.

"Yes. We got along fine. Just because I am younger than David does not mean Lucy and I had problems," Alexandra snapped. The toddler in her lap fussed and she called for the nanny to come and take him for his nap. "She was just an unhappy child."

"Senator, can you think of anyone that would want to hurt your daughter?" Gibbs asked.

"No, but I'd speak to her so called boyfriend."

"I have two agents in Boston. Do you think Trevor had reason to kill Lucy?"

Adams' eyes grew dark. "Of course he did! She wanted to break up with him and turn her life around! We were looking into some of the best colleges for her to go too! There is no doubt in my mind that boy killed my daughter, just look at the history of violence in that family!"

Gibbs wasn't sure if the man was in denial or telling the truth. Everything that Abby had found on Lucy's social media pages suggested that she was not breaking up with her boyfriend, that she was upset her father was trying to keep her from seeing him, and that the girl was into partying. At this point, the federal agent realized, he was going to have to check everyone's alibi's—because right now, everyone involved in this young girl's life were a suspect.

* * *

They had managed to avoid the press by slipping out the service entrance in their hotel and grabbing a taxi cab two blocks away. Sneaking into Henry Samuel's office building, on the other hand, was going to be harder.

Reporters were camped out underneath black golf umbrellas to fend off the icy rain that was falling. "I don't suppose there's a kitchen in this building we can sneak through," Tony mumbled as they got closer to their destination.

Natalie shook her head. "No… but there's a loading dock out back. We can slip down that alley; reporters will probably never even know we're here."

Tony instructed the driver to let them off a block away from the building. He paid the cabbie and led the way out into the rain. They dashed down a side alley towards the back of the building where there was indeed a loading dock for a store that rented space from Samuel. Flashing his badge at the workers, Tony informed them that they were investigating a murder and needed to get inside.

None of the workers argued with him. Tony and Natalie easily got into the building and found their way through the store towards the lobby that would take them up to Henry Samuel's offices.

Samuel's office was on the top floor, of course, decorated in the finest art and marble from stone to ceiling. Even the beautiful, flawless looking secretary at the massive front desk looked like she cost a million dollars.

"Where here to see Mister Samuel," Tony said, taking in his surroundings.

"Do you have an appointment?" the secretary asked.

"No, we do not," he replied.

"I'm sorry, unless you have an appointment, I cannot let you see Mister Samuel."

"Ma'am, we're federal agents, we don't need an appointment. Now, can you inform Mister Samuel we're here."

Reluctantly the secretary picked up the phone. "Mister Samuel, there are two federal agents here to see you. Should I let them in sir?"

Tony and Natalie waited while she talked with Samuel, fully expecting for him to turn them away—demand that they return with a warrant, but she hung up the phone and a few moments later the heavy glass doors leading into the offices opened. A scrawny young man stepped out, his glasses hanging low on the bridge of his nose.

"Agents," he said with a bright smile, "right this way. Mister Samuel is waiting in our conference room for you."

"Sounds like he was expecting us," Tony mused as the pair of agents were led through a maze of cubicles.

"Yes, when the sad news of Lucy's death broke, he was certain you would be showing up," the young man replied.

Natalie exchanged a quick glance with Tony before they were led into the massive conference room. Seated at one end of the long, oak table was Henry Samuel, his hands flooded in front of him, his salt and pepper hair styled perfectly with way too much hair gel. She ran her tongue quickly over her lips recalling all her encounters with this family before leaving Boston behind.

Samuel recognized her, immediately. He grinned and gestured towards the table. "Detective Callahan. Please, sit down. I must say it's been a while since I've seen you."

Tony gazed at his partner, trying to read her reaction from the look in her eyes. She calmly pulled out her credentials and walked towards Samuel.

"I'm no longer with the Boston PD, Mister Samuel," Natalie said, holding out her NCIS ID for him to study. "I'm a federal agent now, with NCIS; this is my partner, Tony DiNozzo."

"I did tell Chief Nichols that he was wasting your talents," Samuel said, continuing to grin. "Always knew you were going to make something of yourself _Agent_ Callahan."

 _Sure you did,_ Natalie thought, sarcastically. "We have a few questions to ask you about your son. As you know, Lucy Adams was found murdered near the Naval Academy yesterday morning."

Samuel's grin faded and he looked generally sympathetic about Lucy's death. "Such a shame. She was a nice girl. I had high hopes that she was going to turn Trevor around."

Tony started to pace around the large table, slowly. "You have to know that this doesn't look good for your son. Lucy is dead, your son disappeared from the Naval Academy around the same time. Right now, he's our main suspect. According to Lucy's twitter page—Trevor was the last person she was with before she died."

"My son has been dealt with and returned to the Naval Academy this morning," Samuel said. "NCIS is free to question him there."

"Does he have an alibi for the night Lucy died?" Natalie inquired.

"You would have to ask him, Agent Callahan," the business tycoon replied. "He's eighteen now. I'm not responsible for him."

Tony pursed his lips together. This man reminded him too much of his father; all about the money and could care less about the son. "So, if Trevor did kill Lucy, you're not going to help fund his defense."

Samuel raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that what JAG is for, Agent DiNozzo?"

Natalie felt cold chills run up and down her spine. "You've done your homework."

He smiled at her. "Of course I have, Agent Callahan. Trevor has been costing me money for years."

"Did you speak to Trevor at all while he was here?" Tony asked.

"Just to tell him to get his sorry ass back the Academy," Samuel replied. He stood and straightened his suit coat. "Do you have anymore questions for me, agents? I have an important meeting with the Mayor to get too."

Tony shook his head and reached into his pocket to produce a business card. "If you can think of anything else that will help our investigation, please give me a call."

Samuel pocketed the card. "Of course. Maxwell, will you please show the agents out?"

Maxwell, their geeky escort, quickly ushered them out of the offices and back to the lobby, where Tony was sure the secretary had been told to time the agents before calling security.

Tony decided that he didn't want to linger to find out. He climbed into the elevator with Natalie and hit the button for the ground floor where the store they had passed through was located. He looked at his partner. "What do you think? Is he telling the truth?"

Natalie sucked in a huge breath and blew it out slowly. "That was always Samuel's talent. You couldn't tell when he was lying to you and you couldn't tell when he was speaking the truth. Only way we're going to know for certain is when we get the autopsy report back and Gibbs speaks to Trevor."

He pulled his phone out. "I'm calling Ducky. You call Abby and have her pull Lucy's phone records. Maybe she called someone before her death."

She pulled out her own cell phone and quickly dialed. It was starting to feel like they were leaving the interview with Henry Samuel with even more questions than when they had sneaked in to see him.


	38. Piece by Piece

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** Here's the next update. I appreciate the feedback I have been getting! Thank to those that take the time to leave a review. Also appreciate the readers that do not leave feedback, because you're still reading my work :) If you've never left a review before, don't by shy, I don't bite ;)

 **amaia-** _I don't have any Tony whump planned right now. Bad ass Tony, however, will be making an appearance._

* * *

Natalie had been hoping to avoid this altogether—coming back to her old precinct. While the police department had helped launch her career, she didn't have the fondest memories here. Working here had been an uphill battle for her as she fought to prove her worth.

Tony took her hand and gave it a squeeze, silently reminding her that he was there and willing to go to battle for her. "Are you ready? I can go in there by myself. They don't scare me."

"I'm not scared," she snapped, angrily.

"Okay, then let's do this _together,_ " he said, opening the door to the cab.

The rain had turned to snow and there was a definite chill in the air. Tony led the way up the steps into the police department, glancing at Natalie as they went. He was concerned about her. She was quiet about her reasons for leaving the police force, but he got the impression that her emotional state at the time had something to do with it.

Inside, Natalie managed to keep her composure, but her eyes were giving her away. She was anxious about this. When she had left she had no intentions of every stepping foot back in this building.

As they approached the front desk, a casually dressed man leaning against the counter, with a gold shield hanging around his neck, pulled himself to his full height. "I was wondering if you were going to stop by Callahan when I saw your face on the news last night. Brilliant performance by your partner, by the way," he said, snarkily smiling at Tony.

"Better than what you would have done, O'Brian," Natalie snapped, defending Tony's action the previous day. " _You_ would have punched the reporter."

"For someone that hasn't seen me in over year, you still think you know me, huh? Still think you can profile," O'Brian said, eyes hard.

Tony pulled his credentials out, because if he didn't, he was going to strangle this guy. "Anthony DiNozzo… I'm the one that handled the reporter so brilliantly. We need to sit down with some of your officers and talk about the Samuel family."

O'Brian laughed. "You'll be here for hours. Every cop has a story about that family. Surprised she didn't tell you all about it."

Natalie swallowed all the emotions, all the familiar feelings of having to prove herself to someone like Steve O'Brian. Old school cop that didn't feel she had a place in that squad room… "I did, but like you said, I've been gone over a year. A lot has happened since then, I'm sure."

"I'll say. You finally found someone to listen to your crackpot ideas," O'Brian stated, bluntly.

"Turns out her _crackpot_ ideas led us to a serial killer," Tony said, stepping closer to the older detective, "and if you aren't going to respect my partner, we're going to have a bit of a problem."

"Steve," a deep voice said, "get back to work. I'll handle the NCIS agents."

O'Brian glared at Tony as he walked away, but Tony stood his ground. He wasn't going to let anyone treat Natalie that way. Tony could feel the tension leave her now that the other detective was gone, surely because she didn't want Tony mixing it up with someone she had worked with…

The newcomer was a lot friendlier, tall, lean, good looking. He engulfed Natalie into a tight hug and when he pulled away he playfully hit her arm. "That's for not saying good bye to me, Natalie, when you left to join the Feds."

Natalie looked down at her wet shoes. "I kind of left in a hurry, Jayson. There wasn't time to say good-bye."

Jayson frowned and set his jaw. He reached down and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Yeah, I know. He messed you up pretty bad, Natalie. You look… you look good."

Tony cleared his throat. He definitely didn't like how touchy Natalie's former partner was with her. He just wanted to shout, _hands off buddy, she's my girlfriend._ "Going to introduce me?" he asked, in a little bit of a jealous growl.

"Jay, this is my partner, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo," Natalie said, glaring at Tony slightly. "Tony, this was my partner with the BPD, Jayson Bayfield."

"Nice to meet you," Jayson said, shaking Tony's hand. "Your mom said you were in good hands, Natalie. Hope these guys down at NCIS have been watching your back."

"I don't know what you've been told, but I always have her back," Tony said, jaw clenched. "Which is more than I can say about you."

"Tony," Natalie warned him. "Stop, please. We came here to look at the files for Henry Samuel, Jay."

Jayson still glaring slightly at Tony, promised he'd go pull them for her. He left the federal agents in the lobby.

Natalie rounded on Tony when he was gone. "What was that all about?" she asked, hotly.

Tony looked at her, innocently. "Obviously, he didn't have your six while you were here."

"Don't make matters worse by going all macho on me," Natalie snapped. "It won't help."

"As far as I'm concerned he stood by and watched guys like O'Brian, and your ex-boyfriend, tear you to pieces."

"It's in the past. There's no need to protect me."

"Not how this relationship works—and you know that."

Jayson came back with a large box filled with files. "Sorry it's such a mess," he said with a shrug. "Anything you're looking for in particular? To be honest, since Trevor went to the Naval Academy we haven't been called over to Henry's place. Seems like the old man finally found a solution to his problem."

Natalie opened the top of the box and began to flip through the papers. "Too bad he doesn't seem to care that his son is in the middle of a murder investigation right now."

"The Senator's daughter? You think Trevor was responsible for that?" Jayson asked.

"Kid fled to Boston and then her body was found. What do you think?" Tony retorted.

"Trevor might have had issues but the kid was afraid of his shadow," the Detective responded. "I'm telling you, he didn't kill her."

"Okay, then who did?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? Isn't that NCIS' job?"

Tony was about to argue, when Natalie pulled a file from the box. "It's okay, Tony. I got what we need right here. Mind if I borrow this for a while?" she asked Jayson.

Jayson shook his head. "Doubt anyone will be missing it or looking for it."

Natalie smiled and tucked the folder underneath her arm. "Thanks. Come on, Tony, let's go get something to eat." She said a quick good bye and turned on her heel, quickly walking out of the squad room, Tony on her tail.

He didn't say anything until they were back outside, in the cold. "What is it that you found?" Tony asked, curious about that file hidden underneath her arm.

She dashed down the steps and hailed a cab. "Police report filed a few months ago; Jay said they hadn't been to Samuel's place in a long time… since Trevor went to the Naval Academy. I wanted to see what was in it."

"And?"

"Lucy Adams was here. Senator Adams' sent his aide to pick her up."

"Brock Stone."

"Uh-huh. From the sounds of it… things got physical and the police were called in."

Tony watched as a yellow cab pulled up to the curb. He opened the door and let Natalie in before him. Slamming the door shut, he instructed the cabby to drive them back to their hotel. "How physical?" he asked as the cab pulled away.

Natalie opened the file and showed the photographs of Henry Samuel's face. "Enough to send Henry to the hospital and press charges against Mr. Stone. Trevor might not have been violent with Lucy, but maybe… Mr. Stone was."

* * *

"I'm working on getting a warrant to take Mr. Stone's DNA," Tim informed Gibbs after they had been updated by Tony. "Abby was looking into his phone records. The Senator called him the most, but there were a few phone calls from Mrs. Adams the night that Lucy went missing."

"What time?" Gibbs asked, sipping his coffee.

"Around ten o'clock," Tim replied. "She reported Lucy missing at approximately two in the morning when she didn't return home from a party she was actually not allowed to be at."

Gibbs sighed, softly. This was a case straight out of a novel. Partying teenage girl, young beautiful stepmother, rich father, and a boyfriend caught in the middle. "Did the Senator and Mrs. Adams have Mr. Stone retrieve Lucy often?"

Tim wasn't sure. He had been trying to find evidence other than the police report that Natalie had found in Boston. "Only time we can honestly say he did go and retrieve her was when he assaulted Mr. Samuel. The Senator managed to get those charges dropped, we think by striking some kind of endorsement deal with Mr. Samuel."

"Makes both parties look good," Gibbs mused, "And sweeps the assault under the rug."

"Brock Stone has a bit of a history with violence that the Senator sweeps under the rug," Tim stated.

"So, it's possible that Stone was the one that killed Lucy," Gibbs said.

"And raped her," Ducky interrupted. "I just finished my examination of the girl. She was indeed raped before she was murdered. I have DNA but Abigail will need a sample to match it too. Are we completely ruling out the boyfriend?"

Tim glanced at Gibbs. Natalie had been confident that her former partner was correct about Trevor's involvement; Tony on the other hand did not. There was clear tension when it came to Jayson Bayfield between Tony and Natalie.

Gibbs shook his head, sadly, and reached for his coat. "No. We're not ruling him out yet. Come on, McGee. Let's call JAG and see if we can schedule a meeting with Trevor. If he is innocent he'll gladly give us a sample of his DNA."

* * *

After they managed to dodge the press once again, Tony and Natalie decided to take the subway to Mass General Hospital, where Henry Samuel had gone for treatment after the assault.

The doctor who had treated him wasn't surprised to learn that the charges had been dropped. "Samuel was already on the phone with his lawyer seeing how he could strike some kind of business deal with the Senator," the middle aged man responded, coolly. "He was more concerned with money than the fact his jaw was nearly broken."

Tony rang his tongue over his lips. "Do you know what caused the fight?" he asked. The police report had been vague and when they had returned it to the BPD, no one wanted to talk about that night without consulting department lawyers, which Tony felt was a lie... they just didn't want to work with the Feds.

"Your guess is as good as mine," the doctor said. "Samuel has a reputation for being an ass in this town."

"He ever mention his son that night?" Natalie asked.

"His son brought him in," the doctor said. "Although, they weren't the happy father and son type."

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he showed the doctor a picture of Lucy. "Did you see this girl with them?" Tony inquired.

The doctor shook his head. "No, but I heard them discussing a girl. From the sounds of it, it was her father that beat up Mr. Samuel. It really wasn't any of my business, Agent DiNozzo. I was there to treat him and the police never came asking about it after that night."

Natalie looked at her partner, briefly. She thanked the doctor and they left the hospital. Outside, as they walked towards the subway station, she questioned, "Why is Senator Adams' protecting Stone? He's a congressional aide, not family. It would better serve him to fire him then to keep striking deals."

Tony shoved his hands into the pockets of his long wool jacket. "There has to be a good reason. My father would even tell you that… and he's made some weird deals in the past."

"Do you think Stone has another connection to the Senator?"

"Hey, it's Washington, stranger things have happened."

"I can call Jayson," Natalie started to say.

"No," Tony interrupted her, firmly. "We don't need his help. Besides, he was too touchy-feel with you."

She looked at him incredulously. "Tony, _nothing_ happened between me and Jay. We were friends, partners, that's it."

He stiffened, visibly. "Can you blame me for wondering if history has repeated itself?"

Natalie laughed and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to her and kissing his cheek. "Tony… Jayson is gay, and happily in a relationship with someone. You're worrying over nothing. No matter how cute Jay is, he'll never be attracted to me."

Tony glanced at her, shyly. "I just thought he was… well… a little too hands on with you, that's all."

"Jay hugs everyone. He'd hug the criminals he arrests if he could," Natalie replied, grinning.

"I'm sorry… I broke rule eight… never assume."

"You're forgiven. You're only human."

Tony sat down on the subway and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You know, we haven't stopped for lunch yet. How about we take a break, call your parents and meet them?"

Natalie glanced at her watch. Time was of the essence, but he was right. They did need to eat and she couldn't leave Boston without seeing her parents. Shuffling about in her pocket, she found her phone and dialed her mother. It wasn't going to hurt their case if they took some time out of the day to escape.


	39. Past History

**Warnings:** None for this chapter.

 **A/N:** I was having trouble sleeping. So I decided to post this instead :) **ShadowPhoenix34** bring your popcorn for the next chapter ;) There seems to be some confusion that needs to be cleared up: Tony has already met Natalie's parents, it happened in chapter 13 :)

* * *

Gibbs could tell that Trevor Samuel was terrified of him. Perhaps, Natalie's former partner had been correct—this kid had not killed Lucy. "Do you know why we're here, Trevor?"

Trevor nodded, his eyes darting anxiously between Gibbs and McGee. "Yeah. Lucy was killed. I told her… I told her not to go that party. She said it would piss her dad off, so she was going. When she didn't answer my texts or my phone calls… I knew… I knew something had happened to her."

McGee looked at the boy's lawyer before asking, "Why did you flee home to Boston?"

"Thought my dad could help," Trevor said with a shrug. "Then Lucy's body showed up. He sent me back here."

"Lucy was raped," Gibbs said, harshly. "Probably by her killer. Would you be willing to give us a DNA sample?"

"Yes. I have nothing to hide," Trevor said. "I didn't kill her. We were going to run away to Canada together."

Gibbs slid a tube with a cotton swab in it across the table. "Agent McGee will be taking the sample. Open your mouth and let him run the swab in it."

McGee stood up and silently took the sample, slipping the swab back into the tube. He took a pen out and filled out the information on it for Abby. "Thank you," he said, putting the evidence into his backpack. "Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Lucy?"

Trevor buried his head in his hands. "Lucy was a party girl. To be honest, Agent McGee, I'm not surprised she met her fate like this. She constantly… put herself into dangerous situations for the thrill of it."

"Can we ask you about the night that Brock Stone came to your father's house?" Gibbs inquired.

"All you have to do is pull the police report," Trevor said. "Mr. Stone came looking for Lucy, when my father told him to leave, he proceeded to beat my father up. Lucy and I called the police. My father never pressed charges."

"Why?"

"Because he's my father and saw a way to make money."

Gibbs frowned, feeling pity for the young man. "Was there a history of problems between Lucy and Mr. Stone?"

Trevor laughed, sarcastically. "Yeah, Agent Gibbs, Brock was the one always pulling her out of parties."

McGee could feel the pieces finally falling into place. Perhaps, this time Brock had snapped when he went to get Lucy and killed her. Looking over at Gibbs, he could tell that the team leader was thinking the same thing. He got up from the table and went to call Tony and Natalie. They were going to need to be updated on the latest information.

"I need you to think, Trevor," Gibbs said once McGee was gone, "do you think Brock was capable of killing Lucy?"

"What reasons would he have?" Trevor asked, honestly. "I mean… it was no secret to me, Agent Gibbs, Brock was getting laid by Lucy."

 _Ducky said she was raped,_ Gibbs thought, thinking back the autopsy report. He winced, hating to ask this next question, because he was asking about a sixteen-year-old girl, "Did Lucy like rough sex?"

Trevor let out a harsh laugh. "She got off on the pain, inflicting pain. I was hoping… I was hoping once we ran away that would stop. Guess Brock didn't mind the pain as much as I did."

Gibbs looked over at the JAG lawyer. His next interview with Senator and Mrs. Adams was not going to be a pleasant one; he needed Natalie's feminine touch back in D.C…

McGee came back into the room then. "I updated Tony."

"See if you can get them a flight back to D.C," Gibbs ordered, getting to his feet. He looked at Trevor, "We'll be in touch."

"You want Tony and Natalie back?" McGee questioned. "They were still looking into the assault in Boston."

"I need Natalie for the follow-up interview with Senator Adams," Gibbs replied.

Trevor licked his lips. "Agent Gibbs, Senator Adams is in Massachusetts. They returned home shortly after Lucy's body was found and the Senator dealt with the press. I saw it on the news."

Gibbs eyes flickered towards McGee.

McGee nodded, and sighed, heavily, "I'l get _us_ a flight to Boston."

* * *

Natalie was glad there was a soaking tub in their bathroom. After spending the whole day running around the city, her muscles ached, but she was pleasantly surprised that emotionally, she was still intact. Having Tony by her side throughout it all really did help.

Slipping out of the tub, she wrapped herself in a heavy, fluffy towel, and ran her fingers through her hair. Her parents had not been available for dinner that night and the young couple had returned to their hotel room for some room service and de-stressing in the soaking tub. Plans had been made for the following evening to meet up with her parents and have dinner at the hotel restaurant.

She quickly got dressed in a tank top and sweatpants and went to join Tony. He was just getting off his cell phone when she appeared.

"That was McGee," Tony said. "Looks like they'll be joining us in Boston."

"Why?" Natalie asked. She thought they'd been handling things well on their own. "Do they know something we don't?"

"JAG allowed NCIS to take Trevor's DNA," Tony replied. "Right now, our main suspect is Brock Stone."

Natalie laid down on the bed with him, rolling over onto her side and snuggling close to him. While her emotional state was still in good standing, it still had been an emotionally draining day for her and she was happy to have him there with her. "Isn't he in D.C, with the Senator?" she asked.

Tony reached out and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer. "Senator Adams' had to return to Boston for a fundraiser for a few days. Gibbs wants us to go speak to Mr. Stone when they get here tomorrow," he answered.

She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat for a seconds. "Their daughter just died—was murdered—and they're still attending political events."

He rubbed her shoulders and pressed a kissed to her cheek. "All about the votes. I'm sure once we link Stone's death to Lucy, he'll be fired. Senator Adams' will make some statement and life in Washington will go on."

"Lucy deserved better," Natalie whispered, opening her eyes to gaze at him. "She never got a chance to meet her white knight, go to school—have kids."

"Life isn't always fair, darling," Tony said, softly. "It would have been nice if she could have gone to college, found her Prince Charming, and had kids—but we both know that's not in the cards for everyone."

"Guess that's why we have a job."

"I'd say that's a good guess."

Natalie pushed herself up onto her elbows. "I'm glad it was in the cards for me to meet my Prince Charming."

Tony grinned at her, boyishly. "Well, I'm glad I found my Queen."

She laughed, playfully. "Smooth."

He chuckled. "I know how to work it."

Natalie leaned down, drawing him into a hungry, passionate kiss. She felt his hands tangle into her hair as his tongue explored her mouth.

Tony managed to discard his phone on the nearby nightstand, before he wrapped her completely in his arms, their kisses becoming more and more heated, passionate, until finally it was no longer enough. It had been a long, emotional day for her, and in some ways it had been emotional for him as well. What they needed now was time together, alone.

Clothing was quickly removed, thrown about the room wildly, and they made love several times until they were finally spent, falling asleep blissfully in each other's arms.

* * *

By morning the city was completely engulfed in a full blown snow storm.

Tony watched the blizzard from their window, sipping his morning coffee. "Doesn't look like we'll be seeing McGee or Gibbs today, unless of course Gibbs hijacks the plane…which, he threatened to hijack Air Force One way back in the day, so I wouldn't put it past him."

Natalie looked up from the table and raised her eyebrows. "Do I know this story?" she asked. To recollection she had not heard of their team leader threatening to take the President's plane.

"Officer died on board," Tony said, sitting down with her. "FBI wanted to take over, Gibbs wouldn't let them. We managed to trick Fornell and get him off the plane… think Fornell wised up after that."

"So, Gibbs didn't end up hijacking Air Force One?" Natalie questioned with a smile.

"No. Kate ordered the plane to take off—she was Secret Service before NCIS," Tony said, softly. "Poor thing was left behind to deal with Gibbs and I while her superior and colleagues went on to California with the President."

Natalie moved her empty coffee mug aside. "I wasn't aware that Kate was assigned to protect the President."

Tony finished his coffee and smiled. "Kate was a tough girl. You didn't mess with her."

She smiled at him playfully. "One has to be tough if they're working with you and Gibbs."

He mockingly glared at her. "Hey… I have a soft side."

"I know, honey," Natalie said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "You're my hopeless romantic."

"You know, I haven't been that way in a long time," Tony said, honestly. "After Wendy I buried that part of me."

"But I love that part of you."

"Ah, well, you should—you uncovered it."

Natalie slipped into his lap and ran her hand underneath his tee shirt. "There's something else I'd like to uncover before we start our day…"

Tony grinned at her, seductively and slipped his own hand underneath her shirt and caressed her breast. "Mmmm I think you and I are on the same page…"

She smiled, a hint of coyness in her eyes. "And what page would that be?"

He kissed her, raking his tongue over her lips, parting them and deepening their embrace. "The coffee and morning sex page."

"Yes," Natalie sighed, "We're on the same page."

"Thank God," Tony cried as he stood up, gathering her into his arms. He tossed her onto the bed… and his phone rang.

 _Damn it,_ the senior field agent thought as he went to answer it. He wasn't surprised that it was Gibbs, cranky as ever and barking orders. When the phone call was done, Tony completely forgot about morning sex with Natalie, and could only think about the job… if they didn't go speak with Brock Stone today there was a good chance that Gibbs was going to kill them.

Natalie was laying on her stomach, resting on her elbows watching him. "What did he want?" she asked, even though she had a good idea—she could hear the team leader yelling over the phone.

Tony went to his go-bag. "He wants us to interview Brock Stone. See if we can get a DNA sample."

"In this snow storm?"

"Hey, I wasn't going there."

"Public transportation is shut down for the day… we might have to walk," she told him.

"Again. I wasn't going there," he said. "Remind me when we get back to Washington to find a woman for Gibbs."

Natalie titled her head to one side and looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Tony grumbled as he headed towards the bathroom to shower and shave. "He needs to get laid."

* * *

"I told NCIS everything that I knew, Agent DiNozzo," Brock Stone said. "I'm confused as to why you want to see me."

"You had a little run in with Henry Samuel a while back," Tony said, gazing at the other man down at the interrogation table.

Stone visibly paled. "Listen, about that, I was exhausted. I had been chasing Lucy all over this damn city and when I showed up at the Samuels' house, Mr. Samuel wouldn't let me in to get her. I lost it, okay."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "I'll say you lost it. You almost broke Henry's jaw. You have a bit of a history with getting violent with people that oppose you."

"I'm passionate about the Senator's work. Sue me," Stone snapped.

"People have tried. Senator Adams manages to get you out of it," Tony snapped back. "I don't think he's going to be thrilled when he learns you were sleeping around with his daughter."

Stone licked his lips. His eyes gave away the fear he was obviously feeling. "I see where this is going Agent DiNozzo. I did not kill Lucy. Yes, Mrs. Adams asked me to go to the party to get her, but once I got there Lucy was gone."

Tony narrowed his eyes on him. "Our forensic scientist found semen on her body. Care to explain how that got there before she died?"

"She had sex before she went to the party. I swear to God, Agent DiNozzo, I did not kill her!"

"Then you won't mind giving us a DNA sample to rule you out."

"I think… I think I don't want to answer any more questions until my lawyer gets here."

Tony heaved a sigh and gathered his paper work. He left the interrogation room and went to join his partner, and Jayson Bayfield in the observation room. "He's lying," he snapped, closing the door behind him.

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest. "Abby called—Lucy was pregnant. She got the test results back this morning. Ducky was going to make an amendment to the autopsy report and fax the hotel a copy."

Jayson pursed his lips. "Girl was sixteen… what was this guy thinking?"

"Clearly, he wasn't," Tony breathed, feeling his body knotted with tension.

"Glad I'm not you guys. What a mess NCIS has to sort through," Jayson said as his cell rang. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Tony watched him leave the room and then glanced back through the glass at Stone. "What's your profiler gut telling you, Nat?"

Natalie chewed on her lower lip. "He had a sexual relationship with Lucy, and yes, did have a history of violence—but only with men, not with women. Maybe the baby was his, Lucy told him and in order to save his career with the Senator, he killed her," she replied.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. Tony could feel a headache coming on. "Your old partner is right—we have a huge mess on our hands."

She sighed and reached out to stroke his arm. "Let me talk to him. Maybe I can open him up more…"

"Go ahead. We have nothing to lose."

Natalie left the observation room and stepped into the interrogation room. She offered a nice smile to Stone. "Hello, Mr. Stone, I know you wanted to wait for your lawyer, but I thought maybe we could chat—off the record."

Stone eyed her suspiciously for a moment. "Sure, off the record."

She continued to smile, raising her eyes towards the glass, silently transmitting to Tony to shut the intercom off, the recording equipment, and she leaned against the wall opposite of where Stone was sitting. "Besides Trevor, was Lucy seeing anyone else?"

"If you mean was she sleeping with anyone else? Yeah. She was."

"How many different guys?"

"Don't know the answer to that one, Agent Callahan."

"Where you one of them?"

"Don't answer that question, Brock," a silky voice said; a silky, all too familiar voice that made Natalie cold as ice.

Natalie turned her eyes towards the newcomer and saw him standing in the door, wearing a perfectly tailored suit, hair slicked back and in place; dark eyes drinking in the sight of her like she was some kind of prize not a woman…

He grinned, his smile just as smooth as the tone of his voice. "Hello, Natalie," he greeted, stepping into the room. "Fancy meeting you here. I thought you left Boston for good."

She felt her chin wobble slightly. _NO! Stop! Don't let him win!_ "Did you honestly care if I came back or not?" Natalie challenged him.

"Honestly? No. You weren't worth my time," he said, sitting down next to Stone. "Now, I'd like time to consult with my client before you question him again."

 _Bastard,_ Natalie hissed in her head. Pushing off the wall, she fled the room, hundreds of memories and emotions slamming into her to the point that she lost control of them. With a silent sob she dashed into the ladies' room and stared at herself in the mirror.

She had worn her hair down and natural that day, and all she could hair was him, spitting words at her to tame the _rat's nest… no one wants to see you look like you cannot use a brush…_

Behind her the door opened. Tony stepped in and came to stand next to her. "Natalie."

Natalie turned the water on and splashed it on her face to wash away the tears that had fallen. "I'm fine."

Tony reached for her but she stepped away quickly. "Talk to me."

"We have nothing to talk about," Natalie snapped drying her face and then discarding the paper towel.

"Who is he, Natalie?" Tony asked, cornering her against the sink. He shut the running water off. "Nat?"

"William Goodwin… he's my ex-boyfriend," Natalie whispered, her watery eyes cast downward.

Tony couldn't stop the protective growl that started low in his throat. They had only been separated for a few moments, and of course in those moments, she had run into the man that had ripped her to pieces. "He say something to you?" he asked, fury thinly veiled.

Natalie shook her head, wanting to burst into tears again. She had been prepared to see the guys at the department, been prepared to see Jayson… but she had not been prepared to run into her ex. Of all the lawyers Stone could have hired, he had to hire Will Goodwin? She managed to raise her eyes to Tony's but she still couldn't utter a word.

He was doing a not so good job hiding his contempt for her former lover. Tony clenched his jaw. "I swear to God, Nat, if he lays a finger on you… I'm gonna pound him into next Sunday."

She started to cry, feeling those familiar sensations of being nothing more than an object creeping back into her heart like a dark shadow crept across a winter field. "Please… please don't, Tony. I don't want… I don't want fights breaking out over me."

"Fine," Tony said, through clenched teeth. "But you're not stepping foot back in that interrogation room." _Goodwin's going to have to deal with me._


	40. Stop Running

**Warnings:** Some language, implied sexual situations

 **A/N:** Happy Friday! **Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to follow or favorite the story, and especially those that take the time to leave reviews. I do write for my enjoyment but it's nice to hear when others are enjoying the story as well :)**

 **amaia-** _I plan to write more Tony and Natalie stories :) Right now this verse is in S8, there are still five more to play around with ;)  
_

* * *

"She couldn't face me, huh?" Goodwin said with that silky smile as Tony stepped into the room. "Typical Natalie."

"Agent Callahan is busy elsewhere," Tony lied. He loosened his tie and closed the door. "If your client is in a chatty mood, this shouldn't take too long."

Will laid his hands on the table. "Mr. Stone has nothing to say."

Tony pursed his lips. "I figured as much. Did he know that Lucy was pregnant?"

Stone's eyes went wide. "Lucy was pregnant? Did her… did her parents know?" he asked, anxiously. "Dear God, do you think _she_ even knew?"

"Doubtful, she wasn't very far along according to our tests," Tony answered, coolly. "Although, if she did know, and was planning on telling the father…"

"Brock, I've already warned you against answering any of these questions," Will said. "NCIS has nothing on you; they're bluffing right now."

"Maybe we are," Tony said, leaning forward, "Maybe we're not. Listen, you can give us the DNA sample now, Brock, and we can rule you out… or you can take your chances with the sketchy advice the lawyer is giving you… because we're going to get a warrant and you're going to give us your DNA whether you want too or not."

Will stood up, glaring at Tony and sizing him up. "Let's go, Brock," he snapped. "Since my client isn't under arrest, we're leaving and we're not giving up any DNA. So get the damn warrant. You'll need it."

Tony returned the glare and drew himself up to his full height, showing Will that he was not going to be intimidated by the other man. "Guess Mr. Stone can expect NCIS to be at his door tomorrow with a Q-tip."

"As long as you have a warrant."

"Don't worry—I will."

Stone stumbled to his feet, mumbling something to his lawyer as they left. Tony ground his teeth and stood up. He met up with Natalie and Jayson in the hall.

Jayson winced. "Sorry, Natalie. I had no idea Will was Brock Stone's lawyer."

Natalie gazed at her partner. "It's okay. I can handle it."

Tony could tell that she didn't quite believe what she was saying. "Gibbs and McGee will be here tomorrow. You won't have to deal with or see Will again on this trip, Natalie."

"Listen, there's nothing else you can do today," Jayson told her. "Maybe you should go back to your room and process…"

"Please, will you both just take the kiddie gloves off!" Natalie shouted. "I'm _fine!_ "

"No one is saying you're not," Tony replied, softly. "But Jayson is right. There's nothing else we can do today."

She felt like bursting into tears. Natalie took deep, shuddering breaths, trying to fend off of emotions. 'I… I know."

He reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "So, let's call Gibbs; give him an update, and just go back to the room. We'll meet your parents for dinner tonight and start fresh in the morning."

Natalie nodded and agreed, knowing that she had very little choice.

* * *

Tony smiled at her, sweetly as they rode the elevator down to the restaurant to meet her parents for dinner. "You look beautiful," he commented. Gently he brushed her long hair off of her shoulders. She was wearing a very flattering, charcoal fit and flare dress, accented by the locket he had bought her in Paris. "I mean it, Natalie; you look stunning."

Natalie sighed and laced her fingers through his. She never had to ask him how she looked—he always made sure to tell her—and he did it because he wanted too, not because he felt obligated too. She reached out with slender fingers and fixed his tie. "It's easy to look this good when I'm standing next to such sexy guy," she purred before she pulled on the tie and pulled him closer, kissing him softly.

His lips quirked into a sexy grin. "Just call me the best looking accessory you own."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath of his cologne and sighed. "I don't own you. I love you."

"And I'm okay with you owning my heart, Natalie."

Natalie opened her eyes as the elevator doors slid open. She stepped back, pulling on his hand, and headed out towards the pristine lobby of their hotel. Her shoe heels echoed off the marbled floors and walls as she walked.

Tony noticed the swarm of well-dressed couples mulling about, going to and from the lounge, town cars in the front of the hotel, but he didn't think any of those women were as beautiful or classy as his partner. Perhaps it was the deadly combination that not only was she sexy, she knew how to get you into a choke hold in fifteen seconds and in those heels…

Rebecca and Tom Callahan were already seated at the table when the couple arrived.

"Sorry we're late," Natalie said, hugging her parents one at a time.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Rebecca said, kissing Natalie's cheek. "We get it—you're here working."

"Hope my girl has taken you to some of the nice spots in the city," Tom quipped, shaking Tony's hand.

"Oh, only the best," Tony joked as he pulled Natalie's chair out for her.

Natalie threw her father a look. "Daddy, we're here working. Not to sight-see."

Rebecca ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Have you… talked to anyone you used to work with?"

She smiled at her mother. "It was fine, Mom," Natalie replied, glancing at Tony. "I had Tony with me."

Her mother's shoulders eased. "It's so good to see you smiling—in Boston—a real smile, Natalie. It's been a long time since you've been here that I've seen you really smile. I know that you don't want to move back here, but it's nice to see."

Tom had to agree with his wife—it was nice to see his daughter so happy in her hometown—but Natalie had a life in D.C now, and one he was sure she wanted to get back too. "Now, Beck, these kids have a nice house to finish fixing up."

"I hope there are rooms for grandchildren," Rebecca said.

"Yes, Mom, there are extra bedrooms," Natalie replied. "For guests…or grandchildren."

"Whoa," Tony said with a laugh, "Let's not rush things ladies."

Natalie smiled and leaned over to kiss him. When she pulled back, she became aware that she was being watched. "Tony," she whispered. "He's here. He followed us."

Tony looked around the room to figure out who she was talking about, but he had his guesses. It didn't take long to confirm his suspicions. His jaw clenched. _Unbelievable. Can't that guy take a hint?_

Rebecca was looking around the room, confused. "Who followed you?" she asked.

"Will," Natalie rasped, gripping the table and trying to breathe through her nose to calm herself.

"How did that jackass know you were in Boston?" Tom snapped. "You didn't call him, did you, Natalie?"

"No! I didn't call him! I would never do that after what he did to me!" Natalie gasped.

"Mr. Goodwin is representing our suspect," Tony answered. He reached over and covered Natalie's hand, giving her silent support.

Tom grumbled some curses underneath his breath. He had watched that bastard demean, tear down and destroy his daughter to the point he had not even recognized her anymore… "I'll get rid of him."

Tony stood up and shook his head at Tom. "No, I'll handle it," he said, briskly walking across the restaurant towards the bar. As he walked, he straightened his shoulders, moved with authority, silently transmitting that _he_ was not someone to mess with.

Will had a drink in his hand, smiling that silky grin at Tony as he approached. "Agent DiNozzo. Care for a drink? You strike me as the cheap beer type."

He ordered a martini, handed the bartender a large bill, and then turned towards Will, smiling, tightly. "Most days a cheap beer is all I need; but I don't mind a good, well-crafted drink when the occasion calls for it."

His dark eyes shifted towards the table where Natalie and her parents were seated. Will sipped his drink, keeping that grin that made Tony want to punch him in the face. "I knew you were screwing her."

"Is that why you followed us?" Tony countered, anger starting to flare up. He was not screwing Natalie—he loved Natalie, their relationship was not simply a sexual one.

"I'm here to meet a date," Will said. "Last time I checked this is a free country and I'm free to meet my date wherever I please. It just so happens to be the same place you are."

"Bull shit," Tony growled, stepping closer. "This city has _hundreds_ of places you could have taken your date. I know how guys like you operate—treating your woman like she's nothing but a pretty fashion accessory, something that you can own. Well, guess what—you don't _own_ her anymore. No one does."

"Never imagined that you'd be the type of guy who lets his woman hold him by the balls," Will snarked, the silky smile only growing. He downed his drink and ordered another one.

Tony kept his composure; he didn't know how because he really wanted to take this guy down a few pegs. "I don't consider letting her be independent, her own person, demeaning to my masculinity. It's amazing how treating her like a person, and not an animal, has done for me."

Will glowered and he turned his body to fully face Tony. Anyone could see the face off coming from a mile away. "You want to take this outside, mix it up, DiNozzo?"

He laughed, sarcastically. "You don't want to start anything with me."

"Try me."

"Tony?"

Stepping back, Tony turned towards Natalie, smiling at her. "I'll be right there," he assured her. "Have the waitress order us our favorite bottle of wine, okay?"

Natalie looked uneasily between the two men. She knew what he was saying to her— _stop running._ "Sure. I'll make sure to put that in right away."

Tony waited until she was out of ear shot before he looked back at Will, his face hardening, his smile gone. "Stay away from her," he proclaimed in a husky, protective tone before he walked away, back towards his table.

When he sat back down, knowing that Will's eyes were still watching him, burning holes through his skull, Tony draped his arm over Natalie's shoulders and pulled her closer. He kissed her temple and whispered only she could hear, "I'm here, he can't hurt you again."

"Honey, if you want to leave and find a different restaurant, we can," Rebecca said, unaware of Tony whispering in her daughter's ear.

"No," Natalie stated, firmly, pulling back from Tony slightly. "No. I am not running and hiding from him anymore."

* * *

After everything she had been through that day, Natalie felt surprisingly at peace as she entered the hotel ground floor restroom. It was as if refusing to leave the restaurant just because Will was there had turned a new leaf for her. She was stronger than he ever led her to believe, she had just needed a man like Tony to help buoy her.

Dinner had gone off without a hitch. Will had stayed at the bar, drinking and romancing a tall, slender, model like woman. He never came over to them, although she did catch his angry eyes every once and a while. For the first time, it didn't bother her or make her cower in fear…

Natalie stepped up to the brightly lit vanity and glanced at herself in the mirror. She adjusted her locket, pushed some hair back into place. Her only warning that what was coming, was the sound of the door opening before she was slammed against the wall.

Will grabbed her, pulling her within inches of his face. "Did you think I was going to let you get away with allowing him to talk to me that?" he spat, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "No one disrespects me that way, Natalie! No one! Not even your brand new boy toy!"

"Let go of me," Natalie hissed, struggling against his super tight grip.

"So you can go run back to _him?_ " Will shouted, hatefully, shaking her violently. "Never could fight your own battles…"

Natalie swiftly brought her knee up and connected with his groin. He cursed her, loudly, but let her go. She took the opportunity to flee the bathroom. She could barely see where she was going through her tears but she knew she had to get away from Will. If she stuck around, she was certain that he'd kill her.

She only knew she had made it to the front lobby because the lights became considerably brighter and she impacted with something warm and solid. _Tony_.

"Beautiful, stop! Natalie!" Tony broke through the torrential rain of her horrid memories, bringing her back to reality.

Natalie stepped back, eyes wide with fear, saw the concern flash across his face just a few seconds before his eyes narrowed onto the bruises forming on her arms. The bruises that were shaped like a man's hands...

Tony was suddenly consumed with fury, coming to the full realization that someone had hurt her. "Did he do that to you?" he asked, hotly.

"In the… in the bathroom… he cornered me…" Natalie cried, tears rolling down her cheeks.

 _I'll kill him,_ Tony thought just mere seconds before Will appeared in the lobby, gunning for Natalie. Tony felt an anger so strong grip him, take over his body, and he struck Will right in the jaw. When the other man looked surprised that he'd been struck, Tony snarled, "What's the matter? Not use to someone fighting back?"

Will's nostrils flared, his eyes filled with fury and Tony prepared himself for a fight. The two men met like a couple of prize fighters going for the title, exchanging furious punches as they fought in the middle of the hotel lobby.

Tony had the upper hand, clearly, since he was combat trained by a marine. His blows were harsh yet calculated to take his opponent down.

It wasn't going to be an easy task. Will might not have been trained like Tony, but he was strong, managing to knock the federal agent back with a couple of blows to his face.

Rocking back on his heels, Tony's anger finally pushed him to the brink and he snapped. He had fought a Kidon assassin, he could take this loser out easily, this sorry excuse for a man that had hurt Natalie. This time when came at Will, he held nothing back, kicking and punching as he pictured this man treating Natalie like she was nothing but an object.

He was so blinded by rage that he didn't see the clerk call for security or the cops, didn't hear Natalie crying out for him to _stop,_ and he certainly didn't see Will crumbling underneath his blows, the blood covering his face, until hands grabbed him and yanked him back.

Police and hotel security suddenly stood between the two men, along with the front desk clerk who looked horrified. There were also some stunned onlookers. It wasn't normally a place where brawls broke out...

"He assaulted my girlfriend," Tony yelled, making eye contact with the police officers. He turned his heated glare on Will. "Just look at the bruises on her arms!"

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us," one of the cops said.

"You're arresting me?"

"No, we just think you need time to cool off…"

"I'll cool off when that asshole is out of my sight!"

"Okay, okay," the cop said, easing Tony back slightly with a gentle push.

Tony flexed his fingers. He'd warned Natalie that if Will laid a finger on her he was going to pound her ex-boyfriend. He should have extended that warning to Will…

Natalie could see that Tony was not calming down. She should have known it was going to come to this… it almost came to a physical altercation in the bar earlier…

Will was glaring at the couple, demanding that some legal action be taken. "She unleashed her attack dog on me," he accused, pointing at Natalie.

"Tony is not my attack dog! He's my best friend! He loves me!" she cried.

"Love? You're more warped than the last time I saw you!" Will shouted at her.

"I was only warped because _you_ made me that way," Natalie hissed. "I _hate_ you."

Tony felt all the anger leaving him as he watched her confront the man that had tormented her for so long, as she let the final wall be broken down and reveal a vulnerable woman behind it. He brushed the cop holding back off, quietly letting him know that it was alright, and went to take her hand. "Natalie, come on, let's go back to our room."

Natalie stumbled backwards, slightly dazed, and then she pulled her hand away. "No! I'm not running away this time," she cried. "I want… I want him to leave. _Now._ "

Will narrowed his eyes on her and then a malicious smile spread across her face. "Look at that, Natalie, you finally grew a pair and it is extremely unattractive on you."

"Yeah, well, at least I have a pair," Natalie spat, angrily. "Men like you, who treat people like scum, don't."

"You know something, Natalie, I don't know what I ever saw in you," Will threw at her, hatefully.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Natalie snapped.

Will spit blood at her feet, cursed her and Tony, and easily let the cops lead him outside to an awaiting cab that would take him back to his place.

Natalie stood there watching until he had been driven away. And then she broke down. Immediately she sought comfort in Tony's arms.

Tony hugged her tightly, feeling the pain from the fight but not really caring. He looked, timidly, at hotel clerk, pulled his wallet out and handed him some money. "Sorry about all the blood."


	41. Mercy

**Warnings:** Although there is nothing graphic, the end of this chapter maybe a trigger for rape/sexual assault.

 **A/N:** Here is that update I promised on Twitter!

* * *

Big, purple bruises had shown up overnight on Tony's left cheek; they swept around his eye in a _C,_ ending just underneath his cheekbone and there was no hiding it from Gibbs or McGee when Tony and Natalie showed up at the BPD the following morning to interrogate Brock Stone.

Gibbs glared slightly at Tony, already knowing what had happened before the SFA even began to explain himself. Everything he knew about Natalie's past in Boston… he should have known Tony was going to get into some kind of physical altercation.

"You look awful," McGee said. "I hate to ask—what does the other guy look like?"

"Worse than I do," Tony said with a smile and a shrug, which earned him a heated glare from Gibbs.

Natalie didn't want to talk about last night; she was still upset that a fight had broken out over her in their hotel lobby. "Jayson was going to pick up Brock Stone for us. Do you have the warrant?"

McGee nodded his head. "Yeah. Abby gave me the name of a forensic scientist she trusts here in Boston. He might be able to get us a rush on the DNA test."

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "So, Trevor's DNA didn't match?"

"No. They didn't have sex before she died," McGee confirmed. "Abby was going to run the DNA on the fetus to see if he was the father, but he didn't seem to think so."

"Which means, it's either Brock Stone or someone not even on our radar yet," Natalie mused. She tugged on the collar of her turtle neck sweater. "We need to talk to Senator Adams again."

Behind the team the doors opened, a blast of cold air hit them, and Gibbs turned to see a tall, good looking detective bringing Brock Stone in, a lawyer followed behind him— _a lawyer that was in a hell of a fight last night… aw hell, Tony!_

Tony was right about one thing—Will Goodwin looked worse than the SFA, one of his eyes was swollen, and he was walking rather gingerly.

Jayson stopped when he got to the team. He reached his hand out to Gibbs, "Agent Gibbs. Detective Bayfield, we've set up an interrogation room so you can chat with Mr. Stone here."

"Appreciate it," Gibbs said, glaring slightly at Tony. "Agent McGee and I will be conducting the interview."

"Don't worry, Brock," Will said, his eyes shifting between Gibbs and Tony, "This isn't going to take long."

"It would take even less time if your client confessed," Tony said with a shrug.

"Confess to what? I didn't kill Lucy!" Stone snapped at the agents.

Gibbs asked Jayson to bring Stone and Will to the interrogation room; when they were gone he glared at his senior field agent. "Want to explain why you got into a fight with the lawyer?"

Tony tensed, immediately. He reached out and gently pushed one of Natalie's sleeves back to reveal the bruises on her arms. "He cornered her in the restroom and assaulted her _after_ he followed us back to the hotel."

Natalie pulled her arm away and yanked her sleeve back down. "Things might have… gotten a little out of control, Gibbs."

"A little?" Gibbs spat. "Why didn't you just file charges, Tony?"

"Will… he's my…ex," Natalie whispered.

Now, Gibbs understood why Tony had gone off the deep end last night. He might have done the same. "You two go take that search warrant for Stone's Boston apartment and see if you find anything. And stay away from the damn lawyer, DiNozzo, got it?"

Tony grumbled something underneath his breath as he walked away with Natalie. The team leader watched his agents leave the building and head out to Stone's apartment before he turned on his heel and went into the interrogation room.

Slamming the door shut, he presented the lawyer with the warrant giving NCIS permission to take Stone's DNA. "McGee," he said, gesturing towards his agent.

McGee stepped up to Stone and instructed him to open his mouth. He swiped the cotton swab around the other man's check and then put it in a clear plastic tube. He wrote on the label and went to put it into his bag.

Gibbs stared Stone down. "Agent Callahan tells me that you were rather close to Lucy."

Stone ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah… okay… we were sleeping together. But I swear I didn't kill her! I went to the party to get her and she wasn't there. I was told by someone else that some woman had come to get her twenty minutes before I arrived and Lucy left with her. I assumed it was Mrs. Adams, okay?"

"Mrs. Adams have a history with Lucy?"

"Of course she had a history. She's only ten years older than Lucy and married to the Senator."

"They ever get physical?"

"Couple of slaps to the face."

Gibbs glanced at McGee, who quietly left the room to call Tony.

Stone watched the other agent go and then asked, "Am I free to go, Agent Gibbs?"

"Not yet," the team leader said, calmly.

"Are you charging him with anything?" Will snapped.

"Yes, for starters, statutory rape," Gibbs stated, firmly. "Lucy was only sixteen. He's almost thirty."

Will rolled his eyes. "The girl threw herself at him. She has a sexual history longer than a playboy bunny, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs glared at him. "She was still underage."

"Fine charge him with statutory rape. He'll make bail and be out by tonight," Will said, standing up. He pat Stone on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Brock, they have nothing on you for the murder."

"Where are you going?" Gibbs asked, hotly. "I didn't say I was done with you yet."

"Excuse me?" Will spat, glaring at him.

Pushing his chair back, Gibbs pulled himself to his full height. In two steps he was face to face with the lawyer, his eyes blazing. "You physically assaulted my agent last night. Touch her again—I'll bring the full force of my agency down on you."

Will clenched his fists. "Is that a threat, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs stepped back slightly and sized the lawyer up, "You better believe it. You mess with my agents, you mess with me."

"Let me guess—no one messes with you, right?" Will countered.

"Damn straight," Gibbs snapped. "I protect my team. I take care of them—and I don't let anyone get away with hurting them."

"Are you done with me now, Agent Gibbs?" the lawyer growled. "I have other clients to meet."

"Yeah," Gibbs snapped, striding passed the lawyer and out of the room. "We're done."

Jayson was leaning against the wall, arms crossed watching him. Between the brawl with Tony the night before, and now the heated conversation with Gibbs, the Boston detective was worried they were heading towards one messy confrontation.

* * *

Tony paused and glanced at the desk in Stone's apartment. He held a framed photograph up so his partner could see. "Has Stone ever mentioned a girlfriend?"

Natalie looked up from going through the mail on the kitchen counter. She shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of." She pursed her lips together for a second. "If his girlfriend found out that he was sleeping with Lucy and got her pregnant…"

"Motive to kill," Tony said, putting the frame back down onto the desk.

"Didn't McGee call and say that a woman picked Lucy up?" Natalie inquired.

"Yeah, when Stone arrived at the party he was told a woman picked her up. He thought it was Mrs. Adams."

"But we already checked out Mrs. Adams alibi. It was a strong one."

Tony locked eyes with her. "I think we might have just solved the case, Nat."

Natalie sighed and put the mail down. "Thank God. I'm ready to go home to D.C."

"Let's figure out the identity of the girlfriend so we can make an arrest and go home," Tony said, eyes searching her face for a moment. "I'm sorry, Natalie," he said, softly after a few seconds of quiet.

"Sorry for what?" Natalie asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"You asked me not to go starting any fights over you."

"From what I recall—you didn't start that fight—he did when he assaulted me in the bathroom."

Tony moved closer to her, gently coming into her personal space. "Seeing those bruises on your arms, knowing that he hurt you like that… I snapped."

Natalie gazed at him, her eyes shining bright with tears. "Tony, you don't have to explain yourself to me, you were just trying to protect me."

He took her face between his hands and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. When he pulled back, he sighed, "You know, thinking about this case… a jealous lover… makes all the sense in the world. Look what I did last night."

She thought about it for a moment and realized he was right. Last night, he might have killed Will if the police and security had not stepped in, and that was a jealous rage fueled by someone hurting her… if Stone's girlfriend felt threatened by Lucy… "We need to call Gibbs."

* * *

"Where's your lawyer?" Gibbs asked, stepping back into the interrogation room.

"I don't know," Stone said with a shrug. "Why? Do you have more questions for me?"

Gibbs sat down. "I do," he said. "Are you willing to wave your right to an attorney?"

Stone frowned and leaned back in his chair. His career was over regardless of what he did here. Senator Adams wouldn't get him out of this one, not when he had been sleeping around with his daughter. "Yeah, I wave the right. Let's get this over with, Agent Gibbs."

He pulled out a piece of paper and instructed Stone to sign it. When he had the waver in his hand, he asked, "Do you have a girlfriend, Mr. Stone?"

"Yes," Stone replied, adverting his eyes.

"Was she aware that you were sleeping with Lucy?" Gibbs questioned.

Stone winced. "There's a slight possibility that she was. I mean, she never came out and said she knew for sure, but I think she suspected."

Gibbs ran his tongue over his lips. "We need her name and address."

"Wait? You think Amy killed Lucy?"

"You told us that a woman was seen picking Lucy up at the party."

"Amy wouldn't…"

"Never underestimate the power of a jealous lover."

Stone winced again and wrote down his girlfriend's address. Gibbs took the piece of paper and handed it to McGee. "I knew that sleeping with Lucy was a mistake," Stone said, breaking the silence. "But I did it anyway; she was… she was something else."

Gibbs stared at the other man. "Do you know how many lives were ruined because you slept around with a sixteen year old? If you had any decency and had kept your pants on, Lucy wouldn't be dead, you wouldn't be going to jail and registering as a sex offender, and your girlfriend wouldn't be charged with murder. Was it worth it, Stone?"

He shook his head and sighed, heavily. "No, Agent Gibbs," Stone said, sadly, "it wasn't."

With the file folder in his hand, Gibbs stood up and frowned down at the young man. "You're going to be booked, here in Boston; then your case will be handed over to Metro. When you get out of jail, Stone, I hope you've learned your lesson."

Opening the door, Gibbs stepped out, grumbling under his breath. He shut the door and turned the corner, and came crashing into McGee. "Tim!" he spat, angrily, "Watch where you're going!"

"Boss," McGee sputtered, nervously, "While you were in there with Stone, I talked to Tony."

"Yeah. Did they find something else at the apartment?" Gibbs questioned. _I need coffee._

"No, they went to lunch."

"I think Tony misunderstood when I told him to keep me appraised."

"It's Natalie, boss," McGee said, watching as Gibbs' dark eyes glazed over with worry. "She went to use the restroom and didn't come back to the table. Tony found her credentials in the back hall, and a door labeled for employee use was wide open."

Gibbs fingers curled around the file folder. _Goodwin._ "Tony pull security footage from the restaurant?" he asked, his voice tight with tension.

McGee nodded. "Yeah, he's looking it over with Detective Bayfield now. I did some digging of my own, boss, and William Goodwin has a criminal record—he's been arrested for bar fights, domestic disputes… there were two rape cases opened against him—the firm he works at paid the victims a hefty settlement to keep it from going to trial."

His skin crawled. God only knew what kind of hell Natalie could be going through at this moment. Gibbs shoved the file folder into McGee's hands and went to find Jayson and Tony.

The Boston detective and his SFA were leaning over a laptop, watching film. "There," Tony said, tapping the screen, "stop it there. That's her being taken out of the employee entrance."

Jayson shook his head. "Son of a bitch surprised her in the restroom again. He's probably armed with her weapon."

Tony pulled himself to his full height, shoulders tense. "We need to find where he took her— _now._ "

"Maybe his loft in Cambridge," Jayson suggested.

"No," Gibbs said, joining them. "Bringing her back there would be too easy."

"Where else could have taken her?" Tony asked, desperate to find her before she was hurt.

Jayson thought about it for a few seconds, then said, "His father owned a fishing company that shut down with his passing a few years ago—the warehouse is still owned by the family."

Gibbs grabbed his jacket and threw it on. "Where's that warehouse?"

"Seaport District," Jayson said. "It's private property, Agent Gibbs, we'll need a warrant."

"Then get me the damn warrant!" Gibbs shouted. "Tell the D.A that someone's life depends on it!"

"Listen, Agent Gibbs… it's not that simple…"

"Not that simple? My agent is in distress! _Your_ former partner!"

Tony saw Jayson's eyes grow dark as the detective reached for the phone and called the District Attorney. When he was done, he slammed the phone down.

Jayson narrowed his glance at Gibbs. "She said she'll see what she can do."

Gibbs scowled. "DiNozzo, McGee, let's go."

"Hey!" Jayson called after them as they left, "What are you planning on doing?"

"Me?" Gibbs shouted back, "I plan on saving my agent!"

* * *

Natalie felt the barrel of the gun press into the small of her back; the barrel of _her_ gun, which had been firmly planted there since Will had attacked her in the restroom at the pub she'd had lunch at. She was forced inside a warehouse and she knew immediately where Will had taken her. It was his late father's fishing company. She had seen this warehouse before, when Will's father had been alive and running it.

Will slammed the door shut behind him, the sound echoing off the steal walls. "Walk," he hissed, pressing the gun deeper into her back.

She slowly proceeded into the building. There was no point in fighting. He would just use her gun and kill her. If she cooperated it gave the team more time to find her. "Where are we going?"

"My dad spent a lot of time here," Will said as they walked towards the abandoned offices. "It was sad to see it shut down; his livelihood, his empire—but it's left a nice little place where no one can find you."

"You don't have to do this," Natalie pleaded with him as the office door was opened. "I'm sure I can talk everyone into forgetting that this happened."

Will laughed. "Right, like Gibbs and DiNozzo are going to forget. I defend criminals for a living, I get charges dropped all the time… I can get my own murder charges dropped."

Natalie shuddered when the office door slammed shut. She felt the barrel of the gun no longer pressing against her back and heard the weapon being placed on a nearby desk. Her eyes darted about, looking for a means of escape if she could quickly get to her knife and disarm Will before he shot her…

He was standing very close to her, his breath hot against her ear. "Take your clothes off."

She refused and his hand tangled into her hair, yanking her head backwards.

"Be a good girl, Natalie. Do as you're told. Take your clothes off."

Natalie clenched her jaw and removed her jeans and her sweater. Immediately the cold air hit her skin, goose bumps breaking out over her body.

Will's fingers ghosted over her skin, causing her to shiver in fear. He took her handcuffs and cuffed her hands behind her back. He made some lewd comment about her tattoo, as he turned her and pushed her back against the desk. "You humiliated me… now, I'm going to return the favor, Natalie…

She turned her face away when he tried to kiss her. This only angered him and he grasped her face between his fingers and forced her to kiss him. When she tried to kick him and use her knees to defend herself he pulled back, chuckling.

He shoved her on the cot in the far corner and used his tie to bind her feet together. "Let's see you fight back now, Natalie."

Suddenly, she found herself paralyzed as she laid there completely helpless. He had taken away all her lines of defenses—her gun, her knife, her fists and her feet. Natalie was at his mercy, which was exactly what he wanted.


	42. Restraint

**Warnings:** Although there is nothing graphic, chapter maybe a trigger for rape/sexual assault.

 **A/N:** Here is the conclusion to the last cliff hanger. Sorry that it took so long to post, real life has been busy busy lately!

* * *

Her eyes kept wandering towards her gun. If only she could reach it, if only she wasn't being restrained, then she'd have the power to stop this entire thing from happening. Of course, that was the entire point of handcuffing her, to take her power away in the situation.

Natalie struggled against the restraints, desperately wishing she could defend herself. She had once told Tony that her ex had never been violent with her, but she could see it escalating to this point… and it had. He's stripped her down to nothing but her bra and panties, hand cuffed her, bound her ankles together and was hovering just over her, ready to force himself on her…

Will chuckled, hoarsely as he watched her struggle. "What's the matter? Don't like being tied up?"

The smell of burlap, sweat, blood, and the desert heat suddenly flooded her senses. Natalie was back in that room, back watching Salem and his men rape Ziva over and over again, forcing her to watch… she didn't want to, but she let out a desperate cry…

"Poor baby," Will cooed. He climbed onto the bed, wearing nothing but his boxers. His lips came within inches of hers. "Next time you'll think twice about humiliating me, Natalie."

She spit in his face. Her last line of defense. Natalie didn't care if it made him angrier. She was not going to become a begging, whimpering mess for him.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand. His fingers tangled into her hair, and he yanked her forward making sure that his lips crushed hers.

Natalie fought against him, refusing to open her mouth to his, even when he tugged on her hair.

Will pulled away. "You were always so submissive before, Natalie. I like when they fight back…"

"Good. Untie me and I'll really fight back."

"There's no joy for me if I untie you. I want you to be helpless, humiliated…"

Tears pressed the backs of her eyes as his hands roamed down her body, underneath her bra, and touched places she only allowed Tony to touch now. Natalie thrashed against his unwanted touch; his strong hands pinned her to the mattress, holding her in place and adding to the bruises he had given her the night before.

Natalie could only close her eyes and just pray that it was over soon as she felt his knee shove between her legs, prying them open… his lips sucked relentlessly at her neck…

She focused on anything but what was happening to her at the moment.

He stopped kissing her neck and she heard the rustle of his boxers as he took them off. He was quickly back on top of her, pushing her legs apart and shoving her panties aside. She felt him against her and just wanted to scream…

Will was only stopped when the office door was smashed in, voices shouting out for him to get down on the ground. He jerked back, reaching for _her_ weapon.

Natalie's eyes flew open when she heard the gun go off. She saw Tony and Gibbs duck for cover as Will squeezed back on the trigger of her SIG again, firing another shot. Despite the NCIS agents' warnings, the lawyer didn't drop the weapon and fired again.

Both Gibbs and Tony fired, their shots not missing their target as Gibbs shot the lawyer's right shoulder and Tony double tapped his left thigh. They had decided in the car that the scumbag was going to live and go rot in prison where he was controlled by other prisoners and guards. It seemed like a fitting punishment for a guy that liked control.

As her weapon slipped from Will's grasp, his body falling away into the concrete wall, and his blood spattered over her—she realized he was down—she was safe. Gibbs and Tony quickly moved in to disarm him, kicking her SIG away. The team leader was calling for McGee to get EMT's and dressed Will's gun shot wounds to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, her body shook with a violent sob that came out in the form of Tony's name, or at least that's what the two agents interpreted the words to be...

"I got you," Tony assured her, coming to her side, into her view. He gently untied the silk tie binding her ankles together. "You're okay, Natalie. I got you. You're safe."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Gibbs!" Natalie sobbed, out of control. "I didn't… I didn't see him in the restroom until he took me by surprise and took my gun!"

"Stop it, Callahan, this isn't your fault," Gibbs told her.

"But it is my fault! I should have seen it coming!" Natalie continued to sob.

Gibbs looked at her sympathetically while Tony undid the handcuffs. Immediately the young woman hugged herself, covering up her body. His blue eyes traveled towards his senior field agent and he silently gave the SFA the lead on this—Natalie trusted Tony above anyone else on the team.

Tony gently helped Natalie out of her blood covered underwear, handing them to Gibbs so the team leader could put them in an evidence bag later, then he helped her back into her jeans and turtleneck, wincing at the dark, ugly bruises that were forming all over body. "We should take you to the hospital, Natalie."

Natalie swallowed a sob and shook her head. "There was…there was no penetration. The furthest he got… the furthest he got was… rubbing… _it…_ up against me."

"You have bruises all over your body. You were still assaulted," Gibbs said, softly.

"Better safe than sorry, Natalie," Tony said.

"Please, Gibbs, please… don't make me go see a doctor," she whimpered.

Gibbs took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him through her tears. "This was not your fault," he repeated to her as EMT's rushed into the room. " _You_ have nothing to be ashamed about. Go to the hospital with Tony."

Natalie burst into tears and nodded her head. The team leader pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple; he was going to make sure that Will Goodwin got what was coming to him, even if he had to throw the man in jail himself.

* * *

Tony kept a close watch on Natalie at the hospital. The nurses had helped washed the blood from her body and her hair, they found her clean underwear and she was thoroughly examined to make sure that there were no internal injuries that needed to be dealt with.

Natalie had been painfully silent since they arrived at the hospital, especially considering how hysterical she had been when they found her. She only talked when the nurses asked her questions, or when the doctor wanted confirmation that there had been no vaginal penetration… but other than that, she had not uttered a word.

He couldn't help but think, with a sick feeling in his stomach, if they had been just a few minutes later…

She wouldn't be sitting there just having her bruises examined…

"Everything checks out," the doctor told her, his eyes searching her face. "I can give you the name of a crisis counselor if you think you need to talk to someone."

"No, thank you," Natalie whispered, with a slight shake of her head. "I have… I have a therapist in Washington that I can talk too."

"Miss Callahan, I know that there was no vaginal penetration, but what that man did to you was still sexual assault," the doctor said. "You can press charges and take him to court."

Natalie's jaw tightened and she closed her eyes. "He's dead." _At least he looked dead when I left._

Brow knitted in confusion, the doctor looked at Tony. "I wasn't aware that this was a murder investigation."

Tony shook his head. "It's not," he replied. "Perpetrator fired at federal agents; it was a law enforcement involved shooting—as far as I know, he made it."

"Can I leave?" Natalie asked, her eyes popping open.

"Yeah, I'll have the nurse bring in your discharge papers," the doctor said, getting up and leaving.

Quietly, Tony got to his feet and pulled the curtain shut. He went back to sitting next to her bed, and ran his fingers through her hair. "He can't hurt you anymore, Natalie, and he made his choice. The moment he kidnapped you, the moment he stripped you down to nothing but your bra and panties… the moment he fired at me and Gibbs…

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "When I went to Washington I promised myself I would never feel that helpless _ever_ again. But I did, Tony… I felt… it was my life here all over again!"

His heart broke for her. He leaned in closer and kissed her forehead. "And that life is over now, for good. We're going back to D.C, we're going to continue to move forward… finishing up that house where some day your mom can come visit her grandkids."

Natalie turned her teary eyes towards him. "I wasn't strong enough," she whimpered.

Tony took her face between his hands, gently and stroked her cheeks. "You were handcuffed, tied up. If you hadn't been cuffed, I know you would have kicked his ass—he knew it too. That's why he restrained you, he wanted absolute power and you were not going to give it to him otherwise."

"Some nights, it was just easier to submit to him," she confessed. "I didn't want to submit this time."

"Will is an abusive, controlling, manipulative man," he said. "He made sure you submitted to him."

She pulled away from him. "But I'm a _trained_ federal agent. I should have been able to defend myself."

He didn't advance towards her, keeping a safe distance so he didn't set her off. Tony had been on the job long enough to see how sexual assault victims reacted to physical touch. Just because Natalie's assault didn't include penetration thanks to the team getting there in time, the assault had still been traumatizing to her and he didn't want to make matters worse. "Natalie, what happened doesn't make you weak."

Natalie glared at him through her tears. "What part of trained federal agent did you not understand?"

Tony could see this was getting nowhere and he was grateful when the nurse arrived with Natalie's discharge papers. While she was filling them out, his cell rang. He excused himself and went into the hall, shutting the curtain behind him. "Hey, boss, we're almost finished up here…"

" _Found something interesting down here at the warehouse. Meet us back at the station."_

"Something interesting? What did you find, boss?"

" _Something that's going to nail Will Goodwin's ass to the wall."_

* * *

Natalie looked small and frail underneath Tony's trench coat.

McGee was reminded of how she looked when she had been rescued from Saleem's camp. Just as broken and frail; he wondered what confronting her attacker was going to do, what bringing him to trial was going to do… she had nearly gone off the deep end without having to confront Saleem.

Tony entered his line of sight, glancing at the table they were standing before. "What's all this?" he asked the junior agent, gesturing towards the stacks of video tapes.

"Goodwin's personal home movies," McGee replied, watching Natalie's face for a reaction. There was none.

"Personal _sex_ movies?" Tony asked, quirking an eyebrow.

McGee nodded his head. "Yeah. Gibbs and I found the stash at the warehouse. Looks like he, um, kept them there to have… um… private viewings I guess."

Tony scowled. "Should have put the bullet through this skull," he murmured. "Any of these videos of the women he raped?"

"No, from what we can gather is these videos were taken at his loft in Cambridge," McGee answered. "Those women that filed sexual assault charges said that the rape happened elsewhere. Most likely their apartment, or he seems to have a fondest for the women's restroom."

"I'd love to know if any of these women were aware they were being filmed," Tony quipped. "No wonder Gibbs said you found something to nail his ass to the wall. Good. Means he can go to jail and have all his power taken away."

Natalie flinched, showing the first signs of life since arriving. Without saying a word, she turned on her heel and exited the conference room that the three agents were standing in. She moved into the hall and sat down on a bench, staring at the wall in front of her.

McGee glanced at Tony, anxious, and unsure how they were going to proceed with Natalie around. "Should Natalie be here?" he asked.

Tony looked over at Natalie and sighed, sadly. "No, but I couldn't reach her parents, and I didn't want her to be alone in the hotel room. This is going to have to do for now."

"Feels wrong to be putting her through all this," McGee said, his focus now on the video tapes.

"Well, Gibbs wasn't going to let both of us skip out on this investigation," Tony surmised. "He's already terrified Jayson Bayfield—poor guy never even saw the full wrath of Gibbs coming."

"Bayfield came through and got us the warrant."

"Uh-huh, which is why he never saw the full wrath of Gibbs coming. I _saw_ how Gibbs came in here, Probie."

McGee shuddered. Gibbs had been on the warpath, rightfully so, but the detectives were not ready to handle him. Gibbs had been infuriated that the PD didn't want him tagging along to question Goodwin at the hospital, and McGee could only describe how Gibbs got to go as nothing short of intimidation on Gibbs part. "Gibbs has a better shot getting Goodwin to cry like a little girl before those detectives."

Tony tossed his partner a gentle smile. McGee wasn't normally the type to growl and spit venom, not like Gibbs or even the senior field agent himself—but when one of their own was hurt, he could be just as protective as the other two men on the team. "If we're lucky, this isn't even going to trial. Gibbs will have Goodwin shaking in his boots and begging to be locked up."

"No trial would probably be best for Natalie," McGee sighed.

"Agreed; a trial isn't going to help her recovery," Tony said, heavily.

"This isn't going to trial," Gibbs snapped, entering the room. "As soon as I mentioned those tapes, how I'd make sure the press got wind of them… he copped a deal."

"Really? How many years?"

"Fifteen minimum; complete with restraining order to keep him away from Natalie."

All three pairs of eyes drifted towards the female member of the team, still sitting on the bench, only she had pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, disappearing underneath the trench coat.

Tony shifted his gaze towards Gibbs. "How many times did you threaten him, boss?"

Gibbs glared slightly at the senior field agent. "After what he did to one of my agents, he's lucky he's still breathing, DiNozzo."

"Prison is a worse punishment than death by cop," Tony said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I rather like the idea of him sitting in a tiny cell with no power, at the mercy of other inmates. Call it cruel, but I call it poetic justice."

"Tony?" Natalie whispered, stepping into the entrance of the conference room. "Can we… can we go back to our room? I'm… I'm tired."

"Sure. We can go back," Tony said, looking towards Gibbs briefly to get the silent go-ahead. "Unless of course I'm still needed here…"

"No. Go," Gibbs said, softly. "McGee and I can wrap this up with the detectives. Our case is moving back to D.C; Stone's girlfriend was picked up by Metro and she confessed to everything."

 _We didn't even need to come to Boston,_ Tony thought, bitterly. "Great. I'm ready to go home," he said, taking Natalie by his hand and leading her towards the door.

McGee and Gibbs watched them leave, finding themselves silently agreeing with his statement—they were all ready to go home to Washington.


	43. Support

**Warnings:** Although there is nothing graphic, chapter maybe a trigger for rape/sexual assault.

 **A/N:** Ok, so I had trouble with this chapter, tying everything up in Boston and moving on to the next big thing... I'm not sure how good it is, but I honestly feel no matter how much I fight with it, I'm not going to get it to where I want it. So here it is :) Please let me know what you think:)

 **amaia-** _Tony and Natalie are going to have some happiness at the end of this chapter, promise!_

* * *

There was a barricade of reporters that greeted them when they arrived back at the hotel. Tony did his best to push them back as they struggled to get to Natalie, asking her questions about her sexual assault... _How the hell did they know about Goodwin's attack?_ He thought as he shoved his way into the hotel lobby, shouting, "No comment!"

Natalie sprinted towards the elevator once they were inside, slamming the button so hard that Tony thought for sure she was going to break her hand.

Tony pulled her back before she could start wailing away at the elevator door. "Hey," he said, softly, grabbing a hold of her arm. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Let go of me," Natalie hissed, yanking her arm free from his gentle grasp.

"Don't get mad at me—I'm not the one that called the press," Tony said, glaring at her slightly.

She turned on him, eyes blazing with so much rage that he wondered for a moment if she was going to strike him. " _He_ called them. _He_ wanted to make sure I was humiliated, so of course _he_ called the press! Now… now it will be all over the news… the papers! Everyone is going to know what happened to me!"

He had expected her emotions and her emotional reactions to be all over the place, but she kept moving from one extreme to the next, rapidly. "So, tell them exactly what happened. Show them the bruises on your wrists from the handcuffs he used to restrain you while he forced himself on top of you. Tell them how he used your weapon to kidnap you, how he hid in the restroom like a coward just to take you by surprise—make it humiliating for _him,_ Natalie."

Natalie let out a strangled cry and buried her hands in her hair. She began to pace the small area while they waited for the elevator. "Everybody keeps telling me what to do! Don't become a cop, Natalie; don't move in with _him,_ Natalie; don't wear your hair that way or that dress; don't go to Washington, Natalie! Stop telling me what to do! I can make my own decisions!"

Tony was stunned to silence. Was he witnessing a psychotic break? She continued to rant, pacing back and forth, leaving him standing there not knowing how to react. Until she stopped and sobbed. The elevator doors thankfully slipped open and he was able to guide her inside, out of the eyes of the guests that had been staring at her wide-eyed during her ranting. Once the doors closed, he opened his arms to her, "Comer here, Nat," he whispered.

"What… what's happening to me?" Natalie cried, flopping into his arms.

"You're angry; that's okay," Tony said, holding onto her tightly. "And maybe a little tired."

"I just want to go home…"

"We will, love, we will."

She calmed, her breathing becoming even, her shoulders eased. She hated how out of control she felt—like she had _no_ control. Pushing a way from Tony, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I want him to hurt, Tony—physically. I've never felt this way before about anyone."

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Trust me, where he's going… he's going to feel the pain… someone isn't going to like his attitude and give him a beat down."

Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The press downstairs were not going to leave her alone. She knew what she had to do. Tony was right; she needed to humiliate Will and she was going to do so by telling the truth, revealing her story at a press conference.

* * *

"What?" Gibbs snapped into his phone. "She wants to do _what?_ "

" _Don't shoot the messenger, Agent Gibbs,"_ the lawyer's voice on the other end replied. " _Agent Callahan would like to hold a press conference addressing her kidnapping and sexual assault. Seems that Mr. Goodwin dragged the papers into this, she wants to make a few things clear."_

Gibbs groaned. If there was one thing he hated more than lawyers, it was the press. What the hell was Natalie thinking? Was she insane? _"_ And you think this is a good idea?"

The District Attorney sighed. " _Yes. I do. Other women need to hear what she has to say, they need to know that what happened to Agent Callahan is not her fault. You know how many rapes go unreported, Agent Gibbs; seeing someone like Natalie on the TV, willingly telling her story, could be quite powerful."_

He scowled at the phone. "So now you're using my agent for some political game?"

She chuckled. " _Actually, Agent Callahan called me._ "

 _Of course she did,_ Gibbs thought, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I don't have much of a say in this, do I?" the team leader questioned. Natalie was going to do what she felt was best… "Just promise me one thing, don't let those vultures in the press eat her up, okay?"

" _Judging from the way Agent DiNozzo has been hovering around her—I doubt that's going to happen,_ " the D.A replied, confidently. " _I promise, Agent Gibbs, I know how to handle the press. This isn't my first rodeo."_

"Not mine either," Gibbs snapped. "I just hope Natalie knows what she's getting herself into."

" _Believe me, Agent Gibbs,"_ the D.A said, " _I think she does."_

* * *

Against the back drop of the elegant ballroom in their hotel, Natalie stood next to the District Attorney, Beatrice Holiday, and made things perfectly clear that Will Goodwin was a sexual predator, that he had been the one to stalk her, disarm her and then use her own weapon to kidnap her.

She showed the video cameras, along with the clamoring reporters, the bruises around her wrists where her own cuffs had been used to restrain her and she showed the photographs of her ankles where Goodwin had tied his tie so tight around her that they left deep, ugly purple bruises behind.

Holiday controlled the flow of questions, making sure that the reporters she knew that had a history of looking down upon victims of sexual assault did not get a word in edgewise. She kept her promise to Gibbs, when things were starting to get a bit out of hand, she ended the press conference and guided Natalie off the stage, out of the eyes of the cameras.

"Did I… did I do okay?" Natalie asked Holiday, uneasily.

"You were great," Holiday replied with a gentle smile. "You were confident and stood your ground."

"Good, he'll hate that," Natalie said thinking about how furious Will was going to be when he saw the tape. She wrapped her arms around herself and hugged tightly.

"What you did was important, Agent Callahan. You gave thousands of women a voice today," the D.A said.

Natalie glanced at Tony. "I just wanted those women to know that it wasn't their fault, that they shouldn't be afraid to come forward. I know that… I know that I wasn't raped, I was lucky that my team worked quickly and found me…"

Tony softly rubbed her shoulder. "He still violated you, Natalie. He still had his hands on you where you didn't want him touching you."

Holiday agreed with him. "Just because he didn't finish what he intended, doesn't make what happened to you any less scary or any less of a crime."

"Glad the bastard is going to jail for fifteen years," Natalie spat.

"Agent Gibbs made sure of it," Holiday said with a chuckle. "He wasn't taking _no_ for an answer."

"I don't think I would have been able to handle a trial," Natalie said, honestly.

"You're lucky you have such supportive people around you. Many victims do not," Holiday told her.

Natalie pushed her hair out of the way, and smiled, faintly. Yes, she knew she was lucky; even before all this happened she knew that she was lucky. She knew that when they went back to Washington she would have the team to help her get through this. Feeling completely drained, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Tony slipped his hand down to the small of her back. "I think we should get you back upstairs to the room so you can rest. It's been a long day—and this way, when your mother calls me again, I can tell her that you're finally taking care of yourself."

Her mother had called several times to make sure that Natalie was okay, but she was keeping her distance—at her daughter's request. "If I don't rest, she'll be down here, forcing me to sleep."

His eyes focused on her face. Underneath the heavy make-up that had been used by the television crew, he could see the dark circles forming. "Then all the more reason to get you upstairs and into bed."

"Agent DiNozzo is right. You did your part, Natalie, time to focus on yourself," Holiday said, holding her hand out to shake the young woman's before she left.

Tony watched the lawyer leave, and then quietly directed Natalie towards the elevators. He hit the button for their floor, and silently the elevator ascended.

Natalie was clearly exhausted. She leaned against his shoulder, motionless, almost in a trance like state. It had been a long thirty six hours for her, where she had gotten very little rest after having dealt with all the emotional trauma she had been put through. Now that the worst was behind her, the lack of sleep was catching up to her.

He carried her the rest of the way to the room, only setting her down so he could open the door. Tony carefully laid her on the bed, slipped her shoes off and made sure was comfortable. Once she was situated on the bed, he stepped back, watching her sleep for a moment.

She had been through hell during this trip to Boston. She needed time off—they needed time away as a couple—Tony wondered if Gibbs would approve…

"Anthony," Natalie mumbled, her eyes opening and searching for him. "Can you hold me, please?"

"Yes," Tony whispered. He took his own shoes off and laid down on the bed with her, pulling her into his arms. "Better?"

Natalie snuggled against him. "Much better. The bed was too cold without you."

Tony buried his hands in her hair and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. "Go back to sleep. You know you're safe with me, darling—and I will also keep you warm."

She smiled, sleepily. "I know, that's why I asked you to hold me. You're better than a blanket."

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Thanks. I like to think I'm better than a blanket, too."

"If I had to choose between you and a blanket—I'd choose you every time."

"When we get home, I'm hiding all our blankets."

Natalie laughed, softly. Her gray eyes opened and gazed at him, lovingly. "Tony," she whispered. "I wouldn't have gotten through all this without you."

Tony hugged her, close to his body, and kissed her temple. "I'm going to continue to help you, Nat, I promise. Whatever demons you have to face from all of this—you will not be facing them alone."

She sighed, her eyes closing. "I know," she said before falling back to sleep.

He nuzzled her hair, closed his own eyes and drifted off.

* * *

Several weeks after returning from Boston, Tony brought Natalie by the house. "I have a surprise for you," he said with a boyish grin. "One that I think you're going to like."

Natalie quirked a little smile at him. Since they had been back from Boston, he had been surprising her with all kinds of things—flowers, dinners, jewelry—in an attempt to cheer her up. While she would admit she was still haunted by some of the events that took place in her home town, the last time Tony had surprised her, she told him that she didn't need the cheering up. "You say that every time and I thought we agreed to no more surprises. I'm okay, Tony. I don't need you to cheer me up."

Tony shut the car down and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "I know we agreed to that, and I think I've held my end of the bargain here… but… I know this will make you feel better. Trust me."

"Okay, I trust you, Tony," Natalie said, climbing out of the car. She pulled her jacket collar up around her neck to ward off the chill in the air. "Just so you know—I never _stopped_ trusting you."

"Yes, but what is the one thing you've wanted more than anything in this house?" Tony asked, shoving the key into the lock and turning it.

"For it to be done?" Natalie responded, teasing him.

"Very funny," Tony snapped, stepping inside the house. "We've made progress! The dry wall is all up!"

Natalie stepped into the house with him. It was true that progress had been made and that all the drywall was up, some of the rooms were painted and already the house looked so much brighter with the open concept floor plan than when they had purchased it… but she failed to see what Tony was trying to surprise her with. She had known the progress on the house because the contractor had called her…

Tony closed the door behind her. He took her by the hand and led her towards the back of the house where the kitchen was. As they rounded the corner, he stopped and grinned. "Just take a peek…"

She peered around the corner and saw that the kitchen was completely done. The glass tile back splash she had picked in a gray-blue color was up, the quartz counter tops and white cabinets were in and all their new, shiny stainless steel appliances were installed… "We have a kitchen," she whispered, running her hand along the light gray counter top.

He chuckled and went to stand next to her. "We have a kitchen! You know what that means, right?" Tony asked, watching her walk around the kitchen looking at every little detail she had picked out and how they had finally come together.

"It means we're one step closer to moving in," Natalie said, throwing him a smile.

"We're one step closer to moving in," Tony repeated. "I spoke to the contractor. Once the master bathroom is done—we can move in."

"How long is that going to take?"

"He said they'd be done by the end of next week. So… when my lease is up next month…"

Natalie cut him off when she lunged at him and kissed him, hard. Tony stumbled back a bit from the impact of her body against his, but he quickly recovered and kissed her back. When she pulled back, she had happy tears in her eyes. "I can't believe how close we are to finally moving in to our house."

Tony wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at her, sweetly. "So, did I succeed this time? Did I cheer you up?"

She laughed. "Yes. You did succeed this time."

He kissed her, lightly on the lips. "Good. I'm glad. It only took what felt like a hundred tries."

"Don't exaggerate."

"Okay, fifty tries."

His cell phone rang and Tony dug it out of his pocket to answer. When he hung up, he sighed, "Duty calls. Dead body found underneath a car in a parking garage… by two teenagers sneaking away from a party to make out."


	44. Return

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for "One Last Score"

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long wait in the update. **Thank you for the continued support! I love when my inbox is filled with alerts that this story is being reviews, favorited, or followed!**

* * *

It took Tony a few seconds to realize that the teenage boy he was interviewing wasn't talking about finding the dead body that had been found stabbed to death underneath the car—he was talking about his first kiss. "We want to know about the body, kid."

He grinned, broadly. "Her body was slamming!"

Gibbs was on the edge of yelling; Tony could see the tightness in his jaw as the team leader replied, "The _dead_ body."

"Oh, well, that kind of sucks because it was my first kiss and all," the kid said with a shrug.

"They get better," Gibbs snapped, walking away to leave Tony to deal with the kid.

Tony watched the team leader walk away to join the rest of the group standing around the car that the body had been found underneath. Jimmy was still wedged underneath, apparently stuck, and Natalie was laying on her stomach near the car, talking to him—probably trying to keep him from panicking. Tony turned back towards the kid. "You didn't happen to see anything when you first came down here? Anything out of the ordinary—in the garage, and I'm not asking about the girl."

The kid shrugged his shoulders. "No. Just a normal, boring parking garage. At first I thought I slipped in oil. Boy was I wrong! Didn't know it was blood until I used my phone and found the body! Is this what you do for a living, sir? It's seriously cool! And the chicks, man they are smoking!"

Glancing over in the direction of the teen's wild gestures, Tony saw the young man was referring to Natalie. Of course he thought his girlfriend was _smoking_ but hearing a sixteen-year-old boy say it… "It's not as glamourous as you think, kid."

"Bummer. But at least you get to carry a gun."

 _Sure. Go with that, kid,_ Tony thought as he handed the teen his card, and told him to contact him if he remembered anything else. Leaving the horny boy behind, Tony joined his team. "I'm not the only one that likes your butt in those pants," he whispered in Natalie's ear.

She blushed somewhat, and smacked him away playfully. Natalie threw him a look as she moved to the side. "If the two of you weren't so busy checking out my butt, you'd know that this isn't our victim's car. We tried to move it off of Jimmy…"

Jimmy shouted from underneath the mystery vehicle. "How much longer is this going to take? I'm not a fan of tight spaces!"

Ducky sighed and shook his head. "A tow truck has been called, Mr. Palmer. Just try to relax."

"Hey, go find the real car," Gibbs snapped, handing Tony the keys.

"This could take a while, boss," Tony said.

"Yeah, well, at least it will stop that kid from drooling over Natalie's butt. Go!"

Tony chuckled as the pair of agents headed off in search of their victim's car. Every few feet Tony would press the key fob, hoping they were getting close to the car. "So, guessing that wasn't your first time being checked out by a kid at a crime scene."

Natalie glared at him. "No. It was not. I doubt the girl he wants to ask out would appreciate the fact he was checking out my butt."

He chuckled and took a few more steps, pressing the fob again. "Well, he's a guy—a teenage guy—you know how we—they—operate."

She rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into her windbreaker pockets. "Yeah. Too busy thinking with what's in your pants and not in your brain."

"I thought you rather liked what was in my pants."

"Classy. Just find the car, please."

Tony laughed and pressed the fob again, this time the lights on a car nearby flashed. They'd found their victim's vehicle. Slapping on some latex gloves, Tony and Natalie began to search the car after they had been unlocked.

Natalie popped the trunk and clicked her tongue. "Wow… there's a lot of loot in here." She picked up some of it in clear evidence bags, "and it looks like it came from the NCIS evidence lock-up."

"Looks like Oliver Froman was making sure NCIS paid him well after his tempaory employment ended," Tony said, snapping a photograph of the trunk.

"How did no one report all of this missing? There's no way he carried it all out on his last day," Natalie pointed out.

"Question is, who gets the joy of interviewing Terry Thomas?"

"Certainly not Gibbs or you—you don't have the patience."

Tony feigned surprise. "What? I don't have patience? I'll have you know that I am very patient. How long did I have to wait for you to agree to sleep with me the first time?"

Natalie threw him an incredulous look. "Maybe McGee should talk to Thomas."

He chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't trust me?"

She shook her head. "I trust you—I trust that you're going to intimidate Thomas and we'll never get a word out of him."

"I do not intimidate my co-workers."

"Yes, you do. Remember Brandon?"

"He was flirting with you. Women love it when I go alpha male."

Natalie rolled her eyes and went to work taking pictures of the stolen evidence in the trunk. "I still think Tim should be the one to handle Thomas. You'll have him thinking he's being reassigned to the Middle East for flirting with me."

Tony shrugged and smiled at her, cheekily. "Let's see what we got here," he said as he started to go through the items. It didn't take either agent very long to realize that all of these items had a connection to the same case. As Abby would say—something was hinky.

* * *

"So, did Thomas have anything to say?" Tony asked when Tim returned from talking with their victim's boss.

Tim glared at his partner. Both men were very much aware of the stutter that Thomas had, and that it got worse the more anxious he was. After finding out how much evidence had been stolen from NCIS, Thomas was _very_ anxious. "He had plenty to say—it just took forever to say it."

Tony grinned, boyishly, and could not refuse to tease his partner just a little bit. "Now, Timmy, he has a speech impediment. It's not his fault that it takes forever for him to get a full sentence out."

Natalie threw a balled up piece of paper across the bullpen at him, which he adeptly caught and tossed in his waste basket. "Tim, did he confirm all the artifacts came from the same case?"

"Yes, everything was seized from Leona Phelps' home when she was arrested," Tim answered.

"Leona Phelps?" Natalie repeated, typing the name in her search bar on the computer. "The name sounds familiar…"

"It should," Tony countered. "She was involved in one of the biggest fraud cases NCIS has seen."

Tim scowled. "Terrible woman."

Gibbs strode into the bullpen then. "Glad you feel that way about her—you're coming with me to interview her at the prison. DiNozzo, get an update from Ducky—Callahan, read up on the Phelps case. Let's hustle; we've got work to do!"

* * *

Natalie needed a coffee break. After spending the last hour reading through the Phelps case and having to deal with furniture being moved behind her—she had finally decided to give up trying to concentrate in the bullpen.

Grabbing her laptop and her coffee cup, she found a quiet little nook and settled down to finish. Back in Boston her superiors hated it when she would wedge herself into a nook or cranny with her laptop to think… Gibbs didn't mind at all, he seemed to understand that it was a part of her process and sometimes he actually encouraged her to do so.

Sipping her coffee, she opened her laptop and got back to work. Her fingers idly slid over her locket as she read, completely unaware of the world around her or at how much time had passed since she had been sitting there.

"I hope my request to change the furniture around wasn't interfering with your work," a familiar voice said.

"No, I needed a place away from people," Natalie ground out looking up.

EJ Barrett smiled at her, coldly. "Heard that you were investigating a murder that might be connected to Leona Phelps. Need any help?"

Natalie shook her head, just wanting EJ to go away. "No, thank you. I'm good. Just getting caught up on the original case."

"Well, I told Tony that if you need anything, I'm available. My team won't be here for a few days," the other female agent said, pushing her long, blonde hair off her shoulder.

"Here? Have you been reassigned?"

"Director Vance thought it best to have us here while we continue to investigate the Port to Port killer."

Natalie tensed. The last time EJ had been around she had asserted that she always got what she wanted, and one thing that she wanted was Tony. _And she's already talked to Tony today…_ Natalie didn't think that Tony would leave her, cheat on her, but EJ would certainly make Natalie's life hell, and now she was going to be assigned to headquarters. "Still haven't found him yet?"

EJ glared at her slightly. She took pride in the work she did, how far she had come as an agent—she wasn't going to let anyone insult her. or the work that her team had done up until this point. "It's not as easy as you think."

"Hey," Tony's voice called over, appearing behind EJ. "Think we got something."

"Great. I'll be right there," Natalie said, closing her laptop and grabbing her coffee. She smiled way too sweetly at EJ. "Sorry, maybe we can catch up later."

Tony watched, carefully as Natalie stepped around EJ, making sure her ponytail flew side to side as she walked—he smirked slightly at how her hips swayed. _Jealous much?_ He thought as he followed his partner back to her desk.

Natalie plopped her laptop and coffee mug back down onto her desk. "What did you find?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

He smiled at her and shook his head. "Nothing. I was worried you were going to rip EJ's eyes out."

"I wouldn't have ripped her eyes out," Natalie argued. _Now, if she tries to move in on my boyfriend, I make no promises._

"You were looking pretty feisty," Tony said.

"You tell people I'm feisty all the time."

"True."

Natalie sat down at her desk, closed her eyes, and took a deep calming breath. She didn't open them until she felt Tony sitting on the edge of her desk.

Tony reached out and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "You okay?"

She smiled at him, gently. "Yes. I'm fine."

He studied her eyes for a moment, knowing they would give away her true feelings. "You're prettier than her. Do you feel fine now?"

"Much better."

"Good."

"You know," she said getting to her feet, "we have a lot of work to get back too."

"Yeah, I know," he said, not quite letting her go just yet. He gripped her waist and gently kissed her. "Remember, she doesn't stand a chance."

Natalie already knew that but it was still nice hearing him say it.

Tony gave her one more quick kiss before they got back to work. They still had a case to solve.


	45. Trap

**Warning** : Spoilers for "One Last Score"

 **A/N:** I apologize for the long wait. I have been working on finishing up other projects and working on new ones. Don't worry, I have not forgotten about this story :) I hope you enjoy the latest update!

 **amaia-** _Glad you are still enjoying the story!_

* * *

"This reminds me of _Raiders of the Lost Ark,_ " Tony quipped as they sat in a control room, watching a lone security guard play baseball by himself in a warehouse that was storing Phelps' valuables.

"Of course it does," Natalie remarked, grinning at him. "Your dying words are going to be _I saw this movie…_ "

Tony chuckled, happy to see that she was less tense than when she had been at the office. EJ was lurking over her shoulder, not literally, but the other female agent's desk was set up just behind the cubicle wall. He did his best to assure her that nothing was going to happen between him and EJ—now if he could only convince EJ of that. "You know," he said, "I was offered to transfer to Europe a few years back."

Natalie flicked her grey eyes towards him. She had never heard him talk about wanting to work anywhere else but in Washington, and from what McGee told her, Tony had hated his agent afloat stint. "You were?"

He nodded. "Yeah, former Director Shepard offered me my own team—in Spain."

She gulped. "Rota?"

"Imagine that huh? I turn the position down and the person who took it shows up on our doorstep."

"Why did you turn it down? You have the qualifications to lead."

"Gibbs."

"You turned it down because Gibbs made you?"

Tony laughed and shook his head. "No. I turned it down because Gibbs wasn't right in the head. He'd suffered memory loss from an injury, kept calling Ziva _Kate._ Someone needed to hold the team together, ironically my choice to stay unhinged us."

Natale knew all about the tension on the team during Ziva's last year. She had not realized the tension had gone that far back. "Well, I'd like to think we're not so unhinged now."

He looked at her seriously. "You grounded us, Nat."

She shrugged. "I just treat you all equally."

"Equally? Does that mean you're sleeping around with Gibbs and McGee?"

"A lady never reveals her secrets."

Tony grinned at her and they fell back into a comfortable silence. Phelps had been certain a heist was coming, it was why she had her belongings moved to this warehouse, but the two NCIS agents had been sitting there all night and so far, nothing yet.

Natalie opened another can of _Diet Coke_ and took a big sip. Even though she was on this stakeout with Tony, she would much rather be at their apartment. There was a good chance they were waiting around for nothing and only had Wilson to watch for entertainment. One of Tony's old, black and white movies would have been more entertaining than watching the security guard play baseball with himself.

Gently, Tony's hand reached out and massaged her shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"

Shifting in her seat, Natalie sighed, "I'm thinking about how bored I am."

"We could make out."

"I don't think Gibbs would like that so much."

"So what? He's not here."

"With our luck he'd walk in on us."

Tony grinned at her. "Come on, it will cure your boredom…"

Natalie rolled her eyes at him. She was going to say something to him when the alarm was tripped. Both agents sat up a taller as Tony called over the radio to Wilson to ask if one of his guards could have tripped the alarm. When the answer was _no,_ Tony and Natalie sprang into action.

Guns drawn they headed down into the warehouse, silently moving through the tall shelves… they could hear someone moving around. Tony signaled for Natalie to wait for his command…

"Hey boss," Tony said, tightly when the two agents appeared from around the corner to find their boss. "Nice of you to call ahead."

"Heist isn't coming," Gibbs said, looking at his agents.

"How do you know that?" Natalie questioned.

"Because," Gibbs said with a sigh, "it's already happened."

* * *

Tony wasn't surprised to find EJ watching Gibbs interrogation of Phelps. She was still waiting for her team to arrive and was in a holding pattern obviously. He had seen her offering hand to other agents on their cases.

EJ smiled at him, coyly. If circumstances were different, Tony realized, if he wasn't in love with Natalie, he might have entertained something with the young team leader. "Where's your partner?" she asked, slyly.

"Helping Abby log some evidence—a desk from some famous writer that something was stolen out of," Tony replied.

"I would have thought she would have cuffed you to her, so she could keep an eye on you," EJ said, a grin spreading over her face.

Tony licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. "Doubt you're aware of this, but I wouldn't mess with her. She kicked a Mossad officer's ass last year."

EJ chuckled and grabbed his wrist to look at his watch. "Gotta go; I have a meeting with the director." She got off her stool and turned to smile at him again, "Phelps will want a deal."

He glanced through the glass at Gibbs speaking to Phelps. EJ hadn't been around long enough, she didn't know that Gibbs didn't make deals…

Behind him the door opened and he turned to see Natalie step inside. She looked a little tired. Last night had been a long night as they went through everything to figure out what it was the thieves had been looking for; they finally determined that it was something that was hidden in an old desk once owned by William Faulkner.

Natalie came to stand next to him, her shoulder brushing against his. Tony saw that she had braided her hair, pulling it back away from her delicate features.

"Time for another _diet Coke?"_ Tony asked.

"I ran out," Natalie replied.

"We have a soda machine."

"Yes, I know that."

"Are you in here because you saw EJ leave?"

"No."

"You know, she joked that she was surprised you hadn't cuffed us together," Tony replied.

"If I were to cuff us together it wouldn't be here, to keep any eye on you," Natalie threw back.

Tony quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? If you cuffed me what would you do to me, you naughty little minx."

Natalie smiled, almost seductively at him and kissed his cheek softly. "Maybe someday I'll show you…"

He groaned. "Don't say stuff like that at work, where I can't do anything about it…"

She chuckled. "It's fun to make you squirm at work."

Gibbs suddenly rapped on the glass getting their attention. He gestured for the two agents to join him in the hall. Tony and Natalie stepped out of Observation, closing the door behind them. "Callahan, you're with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Spring Leona Phelps from Camp Cupcake."

"Boss? You cut her a deal?" Tony asked, surprised. EJ had been right after all.

"Only way we can catch our killer," Gibbs replied. "I want you and McGee to figure out who those thieves are."

Tony watched as Natalie and Gibbs walked away, his girlfriend glanced over her should at him as she left. He knew exactly what she was thinking, because he as thinking the same—he hoped that Gibbs crazy plan worked to bring in Froman's killer.

* * *

Natalie sat in the passenger seat of the Charger, her laptop open on her lap, monitoring Phelps bracelet. McGee had been right—she was a horrible woman.

Gibbs sat beside her, sipping coffee. It hadn't taken the young woman by his side to realize that he was using Phelps as bait, that the killer was a disgruntled person that had been robbed by Phelps. He didn't blame people for being angry, but it didn't give them license to kill. He reached out gently and stroked her hair. "Want to talk about it?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "Talk about what?"

He smiled, softly. "DiNozzo. Barrett."

"I don't think there's anything to talk about. She can think what she wants. Tony isn't going to cheat on me."

"If he does, I slap him so hard his eyeballs will pop out."

Natalie smiled, whimsically. "I don't think violence will be necessary."

Gibbs sipped his coffee and studied her for a moment. If she had been around for all the heart break Tony had been put through, she'd know that there really wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to make a mistake as stupid as sleeping around with Barrett. "You're right; I don't think it will be necessary either."

Her laptop beeped, indicating that Phelps was on the move within the house. Gibbs glanced over at the computer screen and both of them watched as the dot moved out of the house. "I knew it," Natalie breathed as Gibbs started the car up.

Little did she know that cutting the deal with Phelps was all a part of Gibbs master plan. Phelps had been the bait, and the killer had taken it.

* * *

"So," EJ said, packing up her gear for the night, "Gibbs figured out the Froman's killer was also after Phelps."

"Oh, like you figured that out?" Tony countered, smiling at her slightly.

EJ grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "I had my theories. Want to join me for a drink? There's a pub down the street from my apartment."

Tony rang his tongue over his lips. He glanced at Natalie's empty desk. She was somewhere in the building—probably down in the lab with Abby processing evidence. "I don't think that's a good idea, EJ."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Why? Is your baby-sitter going to be mad if you go for a beer with a coworker."

He set his jaw. "We both know you want more than coworker from me."

"Maybe I do."

"I already told you not to mess around with Natalie."

EJ rolled her eyes. She then slung her bag over her shoulder, pushing her long, damp hair aside. "Come on, DiNozzo, we both know that you're not the commitment type. It's never going to last with her and then it's going to be rather awkward for your team."

Tony glared. He was in love with Natalie. It was not going to fall to pieces around him—unless he did something stupid, like go for a drink with EJ. "People change, Barrett. I've changed. Commitment isn't so bad. You should try it some time."

She smiled and shook her head. "Never thought you'd be a guy to allow a woman to wrap her around her finger, DiNozzo."

He felt the heat rising to his face. Tony didn't consider himself whipped. "She doesn't control me."

"Oh? Really? Then join me for a beer."

"Fine. I will; just give me a few minutes to finish up here."

EJ tossed her long her off her shoulder. "I'll meet you down in the garage."

Tony watched as she walked away, grumbling to himself. No one controlled him... well, maybe Gibbs did a little... and maybe his father had once upon a time... but now, he was in complete control. He found the keys to his car and deposited them on Natalie's desk, still seething from EJ's comment as he wrote his partner a quick note that he was going out and to take the car. He wasn't prepared for the slap to the back of his head.

Gibbs had appeared out of nowhere like usual and was standing in the elevator, glaring at him. "Hey! Did you hear me?"

Before Tony could respond to his boss, the doors of the elevator shut and Gibbs was gone. Tony grabbed his gear and headed out, never aware of what Gibbs words had been to him the leader had administered that last head slap; _don't fall for her trap._


	46. Change of Plans

**Warnings:** No spoilers; smut

 **A/N:** Happy Sunday afternoon. Updates are going to be a little bit slower now that my internship requires more work. I try to write every evening but the last few nights I've been tired. Hopefully I can have another chapter up by next weekend. I hope you enjoy this update.

 **Guest-** _Thank you!_

 **amaia-** _Don't worry, everything is going to be alright :) I promise!_

* * *

Tony was seething, still, from the conversation with EJ and he jabbed his finger into the button for the elevator, calling it to his floor. Her comments kept running through his head over and over again while the elevator doors slid open.

Natalie was standing there, a smile on her face. "I was just coming to find you! I made dinner reservations; I think we deserve a night out on the town don't you?"

He suddenly felt guilty. What the hell had he been thinking? So what if EJ thought he was whipped—Natalie didn't care what she thought, he shouldn't care either. All he needed EJ to know was that he was absolutely and totally in love with the woman standing before him. "Dinner sounds good to me."

She leaned up on her toes and pecked his cheek. "Great! Let me just go grab my things and we can be on our way."

"I'll get them. Wait here," Tony informed her. "I forgot my keys."

"Oh, okay," Natalie said, somewhat suspicious, but not digging any deeper. "Don't forget my jacket."

Tony nodded and went to her desk. He quickly tore up the note he had left her, grabbed her gear, jacket and shut her computer down. He glanced over the cubicle at EJ's empty desk, not caring for one second that she was going to be waiting for him in the garage.

Natalie peeked around the corner at him, innocently. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on; he was acting a little weird, but the excitement of a nice dinner out for a change quelled any fears that she had.

He approached her and put her gear down by his feet. Gently, he helped her into her jacket. "So, my lady, where are we going to dinner?"

She gave him a coy smile. "That cute little Greek place near our house. I figured if we're going to be living near it, we should try it."

"Greek sounds delicious to me."

"I think I could said we were getting McDonald's and you would have said it sounded delicious."

"It's not the food, it's the company."

"Nice answer."

Tony reached for her hand and grasped it. "Natalie," he said softly, "let's get out of here, for the entire weekend."

Natalie gazed at him, a soft look in her grey eyes. "What do you have in mind?" she asked, curious. They had not gotten a lot of weekends off lately and the ones that they did, they had spent them at the house.

He took a deep breath, his heart beating wildly. "West Virginia. Friend of mine has a cabin that he's always telling me I can use and there's this small little town hall where I know for a fact that a Justice of the Peace can marry us."

She jerked back slightly, surprised, a quiet gasp leaving her lips. "Are you… are you asking me to run away with you and elope or something?"

"Yeah," Tony said with a laugh, "I guess I am."

"Tony, we can't," Natalie said with a little shake of her head. "One us will have to transfer."

"Not if we elope and keep it a secret," he argued.

"You're… you're serious about this?" she asked, still shocked.

Tony nodded. "Dead serious. I love you, Natalie. I want to spend the rest of my life with you—why not start this weekend? Why not start when we move into our house next week?"

Natalie swallowed, anxiously. This was the most screwed up marriage proposal she had ever heard and yet, it was so Tony. How could she say no? "Only we'll know?"

"For a while," Tony said. "When Gibbs is ready to handle change, then we can tell him."

"He might be mad," Natalie pointed out. "He hates secrets."

"Gibbs is just going to have to deal."

"You're not scared?"

Tony chuckled and pulled her closer. "I'm terrified. My last attempt at this walking down the aisle thing didn't go so well."

Natalie looked at their interlocked fingers for a second. "Maybe skipping the whole aisle part means you'll have better luck this time."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Does this mean yes?"

She blinked tears back. "Yes…"

Gathering her close, Tony kissed her. It had been a crazy idea that had popped into his head about running away for the weekend and eloping… he was glad she wanted to go along with it, because if she had said _no_ it would have been very embarrassing for him.

Pulling back from their kiss, Natalie looked at him seriously. "If we're going to do this…we better get a move on to dinner…"

"Wait? You still want to go to dinner?"

"Yes! I'm starving and it's a long ride to West Virginia."

Tony grinned and allowed her to pull him into the elevator. He pressed the button to close the doors. Licking his lips, he glanced at her with a hint of lust in his eyes. "Starving for food… or something else Agent Callahan?"

Natalie tossed him a glare for a second, but it didn't last long. He dropped their gear on the floor and reached long fingers out to flick the emergency switch, effectively locking them inside the elevator. She swallowed. "I was in the mood for Greek…"

He moved towards her, snaking a hand into her hair and pulling her mouth towards his. "You said _was._ Did you change your mind?"

She ran her eyes over his perfect mouth, somehow resisting the urge to groan as she thought about him kissing her. "Yes… I think I'm in the mood for some Italian."

"I think I'm in the mood for a little Irish fare myself," Tony murmured, capturing her lips in a slow, languid kiss. He gently glided them across her mouth, and down the side of her neck, removing her jacket.

"Do you know a place where we can get some?" Natalie inquired, playfully. She moaned when he sucked softly on her pulse point and rested her head against the elevator wall.

Tony breathed deeply, moving his large hands towards her blouse and deftly undid the buttons. He pushed the soft fabric back to reveal the all ivory lace bra. Hands on her shoulders now, he kissed a trail of open mouthed kisses from her pulse point through the hollow of her neck to just above the lace of her bra.

Natalie whimpered, her back firmly pressed into the cold metal of the elevator wall now. She felt the heat rush and pool between her legs; she forgot all about their dinner reservations.

His hands roamed lower, finding the button on her pants and popping it open. Slowly, he guided the pants to pool at her feet, planting soft kisses on her chest while he did so. Fingers soon grasped her hips and Tony raised his head, finding her mouth and hungrily kissing her.

She naturally pushed her body into his, feeling him between her thighs and she moaned into their embrace. It took her a moment to realize that she was half naked, in the elevator and she pulled back with a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked in a husky tone, his lips brushing against the smooth skin of her shoulder.

"We're…we're in the elevator," Natalie said, breathing hard.

He chuckled. "So?"

She looked at him, incredulously. "We could get caught!"

Tony hooked the band of her lacy underwear with his thumb. "Everyone in this building knows we're having sex. They might not talk about it, but they know."

Natalie tried to keep hold of her fast slipping composure as he slid her underwear down to join her pants and she reflexively kicked both of them off of her completely, realizing then that she had stepped out of her shoes; when she had done that exactly, she wasn't sure. Her mind fleetingly went back to her present thoughts and their situation. "Yes, but... we've never had sex in the office. What happened to keeping the relationship out of the building?"

"It's almost nine; how many people do you still think are _in_ the building?"

"Does it really matter how many? It only takes one person to spread a rumor…"

He growled before his mouth descended onto hers. He made sure to use one hand to fondle her breasts, his thumb grazing over hard nipples, while he deepened their kiss. Tony was going to make her forget, for the time being anyway, that they were in the elevator.

She gave in, eventually, little gasps of pleasure escaping between their passionate kisses. Her hands traveled down the front of his body, cupping the bulge in his jeans before she unbuttoned them and slid the zipper down. Soon they were tugging, pushing, and pulling the jeans down, working together to rid Tony of the suddenly offensive material.

Tony kicked the jeans aside and return to kissing her neck. His fingers drifted down and over her taut stomach and then cut a path through the dark curls between her legs. He groaned softly when he touched her obvious arousal.

Natalie pushed his boxers down over his hips while his fingers explored her. His hardness slid across her hot center, causing her to gasp in anticipation and gently suck on his pulse point.

He removed his fingers, breathing heavily, and he grasped her leg in his hand, hooked it around his waist. Once again his erection slid against her and he felt it pulse, felt her buck her hips towards him and she once again gently kissed his neck.

She loved the taste of his salty skin, her fingers undid the buttons on his shirt and opened it so she could play with the course hair that covered his strong chest. She lifted her other leg off the floor and wrapped it around him.

His arms firmly wrapped around her waist and held her against the wall of the elevator. Carefully, Tony angled himself and slid into her, burying himself inside of her and softly moaning. He started to move slowly, kissing her mouth, his tongue matching the speed of this thrusts. Even in the tight confines of the sterile walled elevator there was a passion and intimacy between them. In the back of his mind he had always known it was more than just sex for them… but now, he could not deny it.

Tony loved this woman. He loved how she made him feel, emotionally, physically; he began to kiss her harder, moving his hips faster and finally their lips broke apart as the need for air arose. "Natalie…" he rasped, huskily, now pumping into her with wild abandon. He felt a fire burning through his body; this was better than any beer he could have had at a bar.

Natalie could feel the cool metal on the wall scraping against her hot skin as their bodies moved together at this furious pace, but instead of hurting her, it added to the pleasure she was feeling; totally at his mercy in his strong arms. "Anthony," she cried, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Every time they made love their feelings only seemed to intensify for each other. It was familiar between them, but there was always a thrill; the feeling that no one else could make them feel so connected and alive, so passionate and loved.

They knew each others bodies so well, knew what drove the other crazy and they were both doing everything in their playbook right now to make sure that they were both satisfied.

She pushed her hips into him, rubbing herself against him in a way that she knew would get him to moan loudly for her. Feeling her still covered breasts rub over his bare chest, Natalie gasped and panted, feeling herself getting closer to her release. She moved faster, urging him on, signaling to him that she was very, very close…

It was only going to take a few more deep, hard thrusts on Tony's part and her outer walls began to contract, squeezing tightly around his hard shaft inside of her, desperately trying to milk his orgasm out of him...

He groaned as he began to feel her walls clench around his cock and the start of her orgasm triggered his own. They climaxed together, crying out each others names and sealing the deal with a hot, passionate kiss.

For a few moments after their powerful orgasms, Tony and Natalie clung to one another in the elevator. He waited until he was sure that she would be able to stand, and gently set her down on the floor, carefully removing himself from her body.

Natalie sighed, contentedly, and leaned down to find her underwear and her pants. It was then that Tony saw the marks on her back from being slammed into the wall—repeatedly.

Shakily he reached out and brushed his fingers across the marks, over her tattoo, and whispered, "Did I hurt you?"

Her face turned towards him and she smiled, softly. "No. Suspects have thrown me to the wall harder and it wasn't as much fun."

Tony watched as she pulled her clothes on and then he took her face between his hands and kissed her. "I love you," he said. "I love you so much sometimes it hurts, Natalie."

Natalie responded by giving him several soft kisses. "My guess is, if love hurts like that, then it must be true love."

"I know it's true love, Natalie," he whispered, running his fingers through her hair. "I've never loved another woman like I've loved you."

"I feel the same way, Tony," she said, quietly. "You showed me the true meaning of love; no one has ever done that, and as much as I would love to continue this philosophical conversation, I think you should get dressed and we should get out of here."

Tony grinned and found his jeans and boxers. He quickly got dressed and buttoned up his shirt as Natalie fastened the buttons on her blouse. "Are we going to dinner for real this time?"

Natalie nodded and hit the emergency switch on the elevator. "Yes. I'm hungry and I do not want to have to stop on the way to West Virginia because I want to get there in time to have dessert."

He laughed and slipped her jacket on. Tony reached for their gear and carried both their bags to his car, his free hand clinging tightly to his love's. Once in the car, he pressed a quick kiss to her temple. Greek food and then West Virginia was waiting for them.

* * *

Early the next morning Natalie woke up buried underneath warm blankets and cocooned between Tony's arms. Sunlight flooded the small master bedroom in the cabin, warming her face. She stretched and sighed, happily, feeling secure as Tony tightened his hold around her.

She opened her eyes and gazed up at him. He was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling with each even breath that he took. Natalie had often joked with him that men could be beautiful, but that morning, with his eyelashes fanned out over his warm skin tone, stubble covering his strong jaw, and illuminated by the sunlight—it was a beautiful sight.

Natalie softly kissed his jawline, stirring him. "Good morning," she whispered.

Tony gripped her waist tightly and buried his nose in her hair. "Every morning is a good morning when I wake up with you in my arms, love."

"Are you nervous about getting married today?" she asked, honestly.

"Not at all. Are you?" he replied, opening his green eyes to gaze at her, sleepily.

She shook her head, brown hair loosely falling in her eyes. "No. It feels right."

He pushed the hair back and away from her face. "We better get up and start getting ready. We have a busy day."

Natalie kissed him one more time before she crawled out of bed; because they had left in such a hurry the night before, she had only grabbed the first dress she had found in her closet. As she pulled it out, she realized it was the dress she had worn on their first official date.

Tony joined her, gently placing his hands on her hips. He kissed her cheek. "I'm going to make us some coffee. There's a great little place near the courthouse that we can get brunch before we meet with the Justice of the Peace."

"I didn't prepare any vows," Natalie said, turning around to face him.

"It's okay, darling," Tony assured her.

"We don't have any rings."

"I think we can figure something out."

She took a deep breath and smiled. "Who knew that I'd have elopement planning concerns?"

He chuckled and pressed his lips to hers. "Don't worry, beautiful. Everything is going to be perfect. Promise."


	47. Our Little Secret

**A/N:** I apologize that it has been an awfully long time since I updated this story. I haven't been writing much, but I hope to be getting back into now that I've felt the inspiration to do so. Enjoy! As always I love to hear what you think!

* * *

It was far from a traditional wedding. The bride didn't wear white, the groom didn't wear a tux, and the only guest was a sweet old lady they had met at brunch that morning, who acted as their witness. Of course they had a more traditional wedding night, but when they woke up the next morning, they were not packing to head off on a honeymoon; they were going back to Washington to pretend that nothing had changed.

Everything had changed, however. They were married now, the last step in the strongest relationship Tony had ever had. He had almost been here once, with Wendy, but since then, no one had come close. Until Natalie.

Tony caught sight of the antique diamond ring they had found in a local shop, the sun reflecting on the stone, accenting the details that reminded him of the locket he had purchased for her in Paris. She had worn the "engagement" ring for all of thirty minutes before a simple, white gold wedding band had been added to her finger—to match the simple white gold wedding band that adorned his now. In the morning, when they went back to work, those wedding bands and the engagement ring would disappear. Our little secret.

Natalie sighed and shifted in the passenger seat, the sun bathing her in an orange haze while she slept on the ride back to D.C. The weekend had gone by much too quickly. He would have given anything to spend an entire week, alone with her, up at the cabin.

"Hey sleepyhead," Tony cooed, coaxing her awake. "Should we stop for some dinner?"

"How much longer do we have?" Natalie asked, sleepily.

"Couple of hours."

"Do we have to go home?"

"I think Gibbs will be upset if we don't show up for work—and the bank if we don't pay the mortgage."

She sighed, sadly. "You're right."

He reached for her hand as he turned off the highway and gave it a little kiss. "Love you."

Natalie smiled at him, sweetly. "Love you, too."

Tony parked the car and reached for his wallet. "I'll grab us something quick, something we can eat on the road. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

"Promise, I'll be here," Natalie teased.

"Good. I don't want to live in the middle of nowhere," Tony teased back as he shut the door.

She watched him walk towards the small little diner and played with the rings on her fingers. Her mother was probably going to be extremely disappointed when they told her that they were married; being the only daughter Rebecca had visions of what Natalie's wedding was going to look like. However, Natalie was sure once her mother calmed down, she would be happy for them.

If she was honest, there was only one person she was worried about when the truth finally came out—Gibbs; he hated it when someone kept secrets from him. They were only keeping it a secret for Gibbs though, so his team wouldn't be disrupted. Somehow, when they eventually told Gibbs, Natalie knew he wasn't going to see it their way.

Natalie stared at the rings on her finger, still trying to process that she was married. A few years ago the idea of getting married sent her into a panic, now, she was calm, happy. It was the right thing to do, she told herself with a smile. All those years ago she had not met the right man, now she had, and she knew that there was no one else for her in the entire world but Tony.

He had shown her what true love was; he respected her, took care of her—he protected her not only from threats on the job but from the demons of her past.

"Got some burgers," Tony said getting back into the car.

"A perfectly acceptable honeymoon dinner," Natalie teased with a soft smile.

Tony frowned. "I wish I could have given you a real honeymoon."

Natalie shifted in her seat and kissed his cheek. "We're moving into the house next week. Consider that our honeymoon, okay?"

He knew that it was the best he could do given the situation. Someday, after they had cleared the air and told everyone that they were married, he would give her a proper honeymoon. For now, their little weekend get-away was going to have to do.

She was happy right now with the way things were. Giving him another reassuring smile, she dug into her burger.

Tony managed to drive and eat at the same time, the ride home became silent while they ate, but both of them groaned when their phones went off simultaneously.

Natalie didn't have to look at hers to know who it was from. It appeared that instead of heading home, they were going to be heading for a crime scene.

* * *

Tony pulled up to the crime scene, ninety minutes after Gibbs' phone call.

McGee didn't look particularly happy, probably because he had to deal with the boss for the last hour and a half. "Where have the two of you been?"

Slapping on some latex gloves, Tony glanced at Natalie. "Well, since we were off for the weekend, we decided to take a road trip. You know we don't plan our weekends off around the possibilities of crimes happening."

Natalie adverted her eyes, feeling like the rings in her windbreaker pocket were burning a hole into her. She didn't think it was going to be this hard to lie to their friends about this. "We're sorry, Tim. Hopefully, it won't happen again."

"If it does, you're both fired," Gibbs snapped, shoving a small notepad in her face. "Here, look this over."

"What am I looking at?" Natalie questioned, then added after she saw the look on the team leader's face, "right, that's what I'm supposed to figure out."

"This was found on the victim's body," Gibbs said.

Tony glanced at the badly decomposed body in the middle of the corn field. It was an odd place to find a dead body, out in the middle of no where, in a field. "What was he doing out here?"

Natalie was looking over the notepad, turning it to get a different perspective. "This looks like some kind of map."

"Oh, treasure hunter," Tony guessed.

"Treasure? Out here?" Natalie said, looking around.

"Some of the richest southerners lived in these parts," Tim replied.

"Apparently whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it," Tony said.

"Well, maybe not," Natalie said, looking in the direction of the setting sun.

Tony looked over his shoulder at the cluster of trees. "Don't tell me you think you found something?"

Natalie nodded and pointed to a similar sketch on the notepad. "Yes. Those trees are on the map."

Gibbs gestured for them to go check it out. "Go. See if you find something else."

With a flashlight in hand, Tony and Natalie set out to the cluster of trees. When they were out of earshot of their colleagues, he said, "See, they don't suspect a thing."

She tossed him a look. "For now. I don't know how long you expect us to keep this a secret."

He took a deep breath. "As long as we want."

"You realize once Gibbs finds out there will be hell to pay?"

"Not worried. Are you?"

"No… not about Gibbs. Well, I mean, I'm a little worried about Gibbs."

"Then who are you really worried about?"

Natalie swallowed the bile in her throat. "EJ."

Tony sighed, frustrated. "Nat, we've talked about this. She doesn't stand a chance."

"I know. I'm worried she'll find out and rat us out to Gibbs."

"Oh. Well, don't worry, because she isn't going to find out."

She was about reply when she tripped over something, reaching out and grabbing a branch to stop herself from falling. "What the hell?" Natalie snapped, looking in the area that Tony shown his flashlight. It revealed a container sticking out of the ground. "Tony, what is that?"

He leaned down and pulled the container out. It looked modern, certainly not a trunk from an old southern gentleman that was trying to hide his riches. Tony frowned and gently pulled the top off. "It wasn't treasure they were looking for her, Nat," he said, lifting up the container so she could see inside. "It was drugs."

* * *

"Guess where our dead guy was two weeks ago?" Natalie announced to a rather silent bullpen. "Columbia."

"You wouldn't have happened upon a witness that saw him take the drugs, now would you?" Tony asked, hopefully.

Natalie shook her head. "No. But another NCIS team has been investigating drug trafficking in that region due to a high amount of recent drug related incidents in the Navy and Marines. I'm going to call the agent in charge tomorrow morning and see if he thinks our victim was involved."

Tony grumbled something underneath his breath. This was not what he wanted to do be doing on a Sunday night; certainly not after the weekend he just had. He wanted to be spending tonight with Natalie, his wife, curled up in their apartment…well, knowing Natalie they would probably be packing for the big move next weekend. "What are the odds that Gibbs will let us pass this case off to him?"

"Slim," Natalie and Tim echoed.

"Figured," Tony sighed.

"Are you worried about all the packing?" Natalie teased.

"No," Tony answered, flatly.

Tim grinned and glanced at Natalie, who smiled a little in return. "We both know what he really wanted."

Natalie played coy. "Pizza and a movie?"

Tony glared at them and stood up, announcing that he was going to go get a snack from the vending machine. Some days he felt like he worked with a couple of little siblings instead of his best friends.

Dropping the money into the machine he knew she was there before she even spoke a word. "Here rather late, Barrett," Tony said, grabbing his candy bar from the machine. He turned to face her. "Any new leads on the Port to Port killer?"

EJ shook her head and leaned against the wall. "What happened to you the other night? I waited for forty-five minutes for you to come out. You never showed."

"I had a better offer," Tony simply replied.

"Natalie," EJ guessed.

"She is my girlfriend."

"You could have told me you were going. Or did you not want her to find out?"

Tony opened his candy bar. EJ was right, he didn't want Natalie to find out that he had been going to the bar with her. So, instead of telling her he had proposed to her, made love to her in the elevator, and jettisoned away for the weekend. "It was best for everyone involved if she didn't know."

EJ frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Fine then. If your queen ever lets her subject out to play—let me know. I think we could have a really good time."

He watched her walk away, clutching the uneaten candy bar in his hand. Tony had pegged her for trouble the moment she walked into headquarters, however, he didn't think she was going to cause him this much trouble. With EJ hanging around until the P2P killer was caught, well, it was going to strain his very young marriage. Maybe getting married had been a bad idea…

"You disappeared," Natalie said, interrupting his thoughts. "I hope you know that Tim and I were just teasing you."

"Yeah, I know," Tony said, finally taking a bite of candy. "I, um, got lost in my thoughts I guess."

"What were you thinking about?"

"You."

Natalie smiled. "I hope they were good thoughts."

Tony grinned. "Of course."

She gestured over her shoulder at the bullpen. "Are you going to come back? Tim and I think we found something."

He quickly finished his candy bar and followed her back to his desk, pushing his conversation with EJ and his thoughts about his marriage from his mind. They had a case and that was where his focus needed to be at the current time.


	48. Everyone Has Their Doubts

**Disclaimer:** Some dialogue was taken directly from the series and I do not own it.

 **Warnings:** Spoilers for "Tell-All"

 **A/N:** Hello, everyone! Here is the next chapter for this story! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"We ran the plates of the abandoned car that was found near the crime scene," Natalie said.

"It was involved in a drive by, gang related shooting in Washington Heights," Tim said.

"I remember seeing that BOLO," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest, "that was two weeks ago."

Natalie turned, slightly, to glance at him. "Ducky puts our sailor's death two weeks ago. There's a chance that he sold the drugs to the gang, drove them out to the spot and they called him."

Tony's green eyes grew dark. After working in Philadelphia and Baltimore, he knew how dangerous getting involved in gangs could be; he'd seen a lot of good cops get murdered by gangs for getting too close… "Let's tread lightly here," he said. _I don't want one of us ending up in a body bag._

Tim looked at him, befuddled. "Metro has an open case in the drive-by, we found the car—we should call them, set up an interview with their suspects."

"McGee, this is a gang we're talking about. You don't just drag them in here," Tony pointed out.

"He's right, Tim," Natalie said. "If we're not careful, we could be their next victim."

"So what do we do?"

"Call Metro and let them take lead."

"Really?"

Tony nodded. "Yes. They'll know more about who we're dealing with."

Natalie held her cellphone up. "Should I give Metro a call?"

"Better call Gibbs first," Tony said.

"Speaking of Gibbs, where is he?" Tim questioned.

"Right here," Gibbs sai behind Tim, causing all three agents to jump. "Already handed this case off to Metro and the NCIS team investigating the drug ring. Go home. See you in the morning."

Tony, Natalie and Tim all exchanged glances. "Boss, are you sure?" The senior field agent asked.

Gibbs chuckled and nodded. "Yes. Better get going before I change my mind."

The agents didn't questions Gibbs any further, gathered their stuff up, and headed towards the elevator. All three would agree that it was odd that the team leader had let them go and given up a case so easily. Something else was up and when Gibbs was ready, he would tell them. Until then, they were going to enjoy the reprieve they had been given.

* * *

Natalie was putting away their laundry when she heard Tony's cell phone beep. Tony had fallen asleep on the sofa while watching a basketball game and Natalie had decided to do their laundry from their weekend away. Curious as to who was contacting her new husband at two in the morning, she went to find his phone.

She found it on the coffee table. Picking it up, she ran her finger over the touch screen and saw that it was a text message from EJ. _She doesn't give up,_ Natalie thought as she opened it, feeling a little bit guilty that she was spying on Tony. She knew that she had no reason to worry about anything going on between Tony and EJ, yet she couldn't stop herself. _Sorry I got mad,_ EJ had written, _Natalie comes first, obviously; hope we can get that drink we missed Friday sometime._

Drink? Natalie swallowed, hard, and put the phone down on to the coffee table. She felt a stab of betrayal. Had he declined a drink with EJ and proposed to her to make a point? She collapsed onto the sofa, waking Tony up.

"Hey," he whispered. "It's late. Why are you up?"

"Laundry," she replied, honestly. "Your phone was beeping."

"Really? Think Gibbs needs us?"

"No. EJ was apologizing for getting mad at you about Friday."

Tony shifted and sat up. "Nat, I saw you and didn't go."

Natalie blinked back tears. "I know. You saw me and proposed and then had sex with me."

He reached for her hand and was surprised when she didn't pull away. "Everything I said to you in that elevator was true—I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you—I want a future with you, the house, kids. I know… I know it was probably rotten of me for how it all came about…"

She finally pulled her hand away and glared at him. "Probably? If EJ had not asked you to go get a drink with her and I had shown up looking for you to go out for dinner—would you have proposed to me? Would you have come up with this crazy idea of running away for the weekend and eloping?"

"I…I don't know, darling."

"Maybe we should just go to bed and talk about this tomorrow."

"Nat, I don't want us to go to bed angry."

"I'm not angry," Natalie replied, softly.

"You're not?" Tony questioned, unsure.

Natalie stood up and shook her head. "No. I'm doubtful that this was the right thing to do—that we were really ready to take this step."

Tony winced and stood up with her. Cautiously he reached out for her and pulled her into his arms, she willingly went to him. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I should have told you about EJ, the invitation to go out with her—and I didn't. I blew it. Big time. I hope that I can chase your doubts away, eventually."

She closed her eyes and felt exhausted. Emotionally, physically. Maybe with time he would be able to erase her doubts. For now, she wasn't sure she had made the right decision. Who knew that marriage could jeopardize their relationship? "You can start in the morning. I really think we should go to bed now."

He kissed he top of her head and let her go. "I promise, Natalie, I'm going to make this up to you. I'm going to treat you right from here on out. No more secrets. And if EJ asks me out again for another drink, I'll say no. You should come first. _Only_ you should come first."

"Funny, she said the same thing in the text message," Natalie countered, "that it was obvious I should come first. She can see it, but my own _husband_ can't."

"Do I get a little slack—I've never been married before," Tony said, running his thumb along her cheek bone. "This is all new to me."

"It's new to me too."

"Then I guess we can learn together."

Natalie gently smiled at him. "First lesson?"

Tony nodded, earnestly. "Yes."

She leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek. "Tell me when other women asks you on a date."

He looked a little dumbfounded. "It wasn't a date."

"No? She wanted you to go to a bar, late with her. Sounds like a date to me."

"Alright… maybe it was a date."

Natalie sighed, exhausted, and headed back towards the bedroom. She invited Tony to join her and repeated her sentiments that they would talk more the following day.

Tony followed her to bed, already planning on all the ways he was going to make up his mistake of not telling her about EJ's offer.

* * *

The following morning EJ was gone. Rumor around the building was that another body had been found in the P2P case and her team was off to investigate. With no EJ around it meant that Tony could focus on his young marriage without the threat of EJ sabotaging it.

Natalie didn't say anything out loud, but she was happy to see that EJ wouldn't be around for at least a few days. Sometimes, she was gone from headquarters for weeks. If the other female agent didn't text Tony while she was away, Natalie didn't see them having any issues. They had talked that morning some more at breakfast and while Natalie still had some doubts that they had jumped into the marriage too soon, Tony reassured her that all newlyweds shared doubts.

As far as Mondays went, it was quiet. The team had not been handed a case and Natalie was spending the free time catching up on her paperwork and looking at some new furniture for the house.; less than a week until move in now.

"Where did Tony go?" Tim asked, breaking her concentration.

"He said he needed some more coffee," Natalie replied.

"And get some more coffee I did," Tony announced entering the bullpen. He was carrying a tray of beverages for his team and a bouquet of roses for Natalie. "My lady," he said with a grin as he handed her the flowers. "For you."

Natalie took the flowers from him and thanked him, coyly. She eyed the coffees in the tray. "As much as I love the flowers—I would really like a coffee."

Tony wiggled one of the cardboard cups out of the tray and handed it to her. "Lucky for you, I got you both."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Did at least bring me _one_?"

"Calm down, McJealous," Tony snapped, wiggling another cup out of the tray, "I got one for you."

"Are the nicknames ever going to stop?" Tim asked.

"No."

"Figured."

Their bickering faded away into the background while Natalie placed her flowers in a vase near her desk and admired them. If someone had told her two years ago that she was going to get herself back, that she was going to be happy again, she probably would have called them a liar.

She felt fingers run through her ponytail. When she glanced up she noticed that Tony was looking at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, softly.

Natalie smiled. "Yes. Better than okay, actually."

Tony gave her a gentle smile and went to place the coffee he got for Gibbs on the team leader's desk. A fancy envelope caught his eye, when he picked it up he heard Natalie remark, "Tampering with someone else's mail is a federal offense, Tony."

"And we're federal agents," Tim added, "seems like it would be our duty to arrest you."

"How do you know it's not mine?" Tony questioned.

"Because it's addressed to Gibbs."

"It was also on Gibbs' desk."

"Eagle eyes team," Tony cracked, holding the envelope up to show McGee. "Tell me, what else do you see, Timmy?"

Natalie was confused. "Why are you so interested in Gibbs' mail?"

Tony smiled. "Isn't it obvious? The raised calligraphy, the fabric more expensive than Tim's shirt—he got the same invitation last week."

Tim glared at his partner. "How would you know that? Have you been going through his mail?"

"I _saw_ it," Tony said, waving the invitation. "Same fancy handwriting, same fancy paper."

"Someone must really want Gibbs at their wedding," Natalie said getting back to work.

"Who would want Gibbs at their wedding?" Tim asked.

"Hmm, good question, Tim; guy is all kinds of bad juju for a wedding," Tony said.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "You two are overreacting. I for one would have liked Gibbs to have been there when I got married." She immediately realized the slip of her tongue when both Tony and Tim's eyes went wide—for different reasons, obviously. "I meant, get married. Obviously, we're nowhere near that point yet, Tony."

Tony swallowed the nervous bile in his throat, chuckled anxiously, and dropped the invitation back down onto Gibbs' desk. "Yeah, we have to move into our house first and we're taking things slow from there, right?"

Tim wasn't sure why they were trying to convince him of this, but he shrugged it off. Even if he wanted to ponder the strange conversation his friends were having, Gibbs returned to the bullpen telling them to gear up; they had a case.

As the team was grabbing their gear, they all watched as Gibbs grabbed the invitation and chucked it into the recycle bin.


	49. Birdsong

**Warnings:** Same as usual

 **A/N:** We're getting closer to finishing up the P2P arc. Any suggestions of what you would like to see (or not to see) feel free to PM me :) I hope you enjoy this next chapter! As always I appreciate your feedback!

 **Guest:** _True, the skylight does echo. So, Gibbs probably does know; he knows everything!_

 **amaia:** _I know I haven't actually written EJ in a favorable light here, but I did like her on the show. Wish she hadn't been sacrificed at the alter of Tiva and we got to see a real relationship develop between Tony and EJ. I think Tony really cared for her. As for my story, EJ isn't going to ruin Tony and Natalie :)_

* * *

"Beautiful spring day," Tony said, snapping a photograph of their crime scene. "June's perfect for all kinds of events, graduations, back yard parties, weddings..."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs huffed, glaring at the senior field agent. "Less chatter, more work."

Tony walked away silently and got back to work canvasing the crime scene. He noticed the little shake of the head that he got from Natalie as he went past her and began to check out the perimeter of the area they had roped off.

Gibbs joined Ducky, Palmer, and Tim, asking if they had any information for him. He knew hat Tony had discovered the wedding invitation, and he knew that Tony wasn't going to let it go; the senior field agent's curiosity sometimes was curse just as much as it was a blessing.

Palmer was bubbling about his girlfriend when Gibbs arrived, apologizing about talking on the phone with her while they were working because apparently Breena liked to have someone to talk to too when she was embalming. "You should marry that girl, Palmer," Gibbs said.

Tim silently laughed and pulled something from the victim's pocket. "Boss, I found the victim's identification—Lieutenant Commander Patrick Casey; Defense Intelligence Agency. Cash and credit cards are accounted for. This doesn't appear to be a robbery."

The team leader was sure that their victim could have been killed for his secrets alone. "Ducky, do you have a time of death yet?"

"I would say around 11 P.M," Ducky replied. "He has multiple gunshots wounds, and the one in his neck suggests hollow point rounds—but I won't know until I get him into autopsy."

"Is there an exit wound?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky asked Tim to help him roll the body onto its side, only to discover that there was not an exit wound on their victim. "That's odd," the M.E replied, "I don't see any. What goes in should come out; or so I thought."

Gibbs made a note on his pad and sighed, "Me too, Duck."

Natalie stood up and pointed to the blood trail on the grass. "I think Commander Casey tried to crawl, Gibbs. I found a blood trail; it appears he was trying to get to the road, maybe to try and find help."

"Boss!" Tony yelled from a bit of a distance. "You might want to come see this."

Both Gibbs and Natalie walked over to where Tony was standing in front of a large boulder. As they got closer, the SFA added, "Commander Casey left us a message."

Natalie read the word written in blood out loud, "Birdsong."

Tony glanced at Gibbs. "It's probably written in the Commander's blood, boss."

Gibbs quirked his eyebrows in a silent agreement.

"What does birdsong mean?" Natalie questioned.

"Well," Gibbs told her, "that's what we're going to find out."

* * *

At some point during the afternoon, Natalie realized that Tony had disappeared. She had noticed him snooping around the recycling bin earlier, obviously looking for the invitation that Gibbs had discarded earlier. She had a pretty good idea where her husband had disappeared too once Tim had left to pick up the publisher that had been poised to publish a book based on the operation they had found written in blood at the crime scene and Gibbs had gone to get more coffee after speaking to Lieutenant Commander Casey's commanding officer at the DIA.

Natalie looked around the empty bullpen, finished up her BOLO on the woman they had learned who had been seen with Casey the night before he died and then got up, following her gut to find Tony.

Pushing the door to the women's locker room open, she heard a shower curtain close but no water running. Peering around the corner she saw Tony's fancy Italian shoes peeking out from underneath the curtain. Yanking it back, she startled him. He was standing there, facing her, with the invitation in his hand outside of its envelope.

"Dear God!" Tony gasped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Tony. You're in the woman's shower, fully clothed by the way, and holding Gibbs mail," Natalie pointed out.

He climbed out of the shower and walked towards the mirror, fixing his hair. "What's your point?"

She turned and glanced at him through the mirror. "You shouldn't be reading that; it's not addressed to you."

Tony sighed and continued to play with his hair. "I know, but there are some many questions that need to be answered. The happiest day in someone's life and they need Leroy Jethro Gibbs there to seal the deal? Doesn't make any sense."

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, since we're alone, let's be honest. If we had a normal wedding ceremony and had not eloped, you wouldn't want Gibbs there at our wedding?"

"Well, I don't if a head slap coming down the aisle is the ideal Kodak moment. What would your parents think?" Tony replied. "Maybe you're right, maybe I would want him there."

"Okay, so I have another question," Natalie said, moving closer to him. "Why such the sudden interest in weddings? Are you upset that we didn't have the traditional one?"

Tony turned to face her, standing just centimeters from her. "No. I'm just merely honing my investigating skills, trying to figure out what makes Gibbs tick."

Natalie grabbed a small portion of his blazer. She ran her fingers up the fabric and brushed them against his collared shirt. "I like it when you don't wear a tie. You make business casual sexy."

He smiled at her, seductively. "Really? I'm going to have to dress in business casual more often then."

She pulled him down for a quick kiss. "I like that idea."

"I should stop this," Tony whispered before kissing her again.

"Stop what?" Natalie whispered back, slipping the invitation out of his hand and tossing it aside.

"This. We have a case."

"Tim isn't back yet, Gibbs was going to get coffee. We have fifteen minutes, maybe twenty."

Tony smiled and wrapped her into his arms, hungrily kissing her. Gently he edged her towards the empty shower stall. Once inside, he came up for air, and gasped, "Wait. We should lock the door."

Natalie grinned. "Already did," she said before passionately kissing him again and yanking the curtain shut.

* * *

Tim stepped out of the conference room quickly and crashed into Tony.

Tony stumbled a bit, straightened his tall frame, and snapped, "Hey! Where's the fire?"

"Sorry. The publisher recognized me and was trying to finagle a book deal," Tim said, brushing some imaginary dust off shoulder. His brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed in on Tony's collar. "Is that lipstick on your shirt?"

"Huh?" Tony questioned, glancing at his shirt. He pulled the collar out so he could inspect, saw Natalie's lipstick, and grinned. "Oh, yeah, guess it is. Better go change my shirt before Gibbs finds out."

Tim rolled his eyes and began walking away. "Gibbs will kill you if he finds out you're fooling around with Natalie in the office."

Tony jogged to match his pace and when he did they fell into a even stride. "Would you believe that today was only the second time it's happened here?"

"No."

"Believe it. It's true."

"I really don't want to talk about my two best friends getting it on."

"You don't have to be so crass about it."

Tim resisted the urge to roll his eye this time and proceeded towards his desk. "Have you and Natalie found anything out about our victim between the last time I saw you and your little quickie?"

Tony chuckled. "Nothing new; we still can't access what Commander Casey was working on; it's all classified. Admiral Hindley is being very, very secretive and doesn't seem to be willing to give us access. What did Ms. Dumont tell you?"

"Admiral Hindley confiscated a manuscript she was about to publish," Tim said.

"Let me guess— _Operation Birdsong,_ " Tony countered.

"You guessed correctly. The anonymous author was a former intelligence operative and requested that two other people receive an advanced copy," Tim informed his partner. "One was Commander Casey, the other was FBI agent Elise Archer."

Tony sighed. "So, Commander Casey was killed because of this book. I wonder what's in it."

Tim shook his head. "Dumont would only tell us that it was about weapons sales, corruption and intrigue."

Natalie returned to the bullpen, hair clearly more wild than earlier. "Sounds like one of those James Bond movies you're so fond of, Tony."

"Well this isn't a Bond movie," Gibbs snapped, joining them. He gave Tony an address. "Go pick up Elise Archer; take Callahan with you."

"On it boss," Tony said, pocketing the address in his jeans pocket. He reached for his trench coat and slipped it on, revealing the very evident lipstick stain. Tony immediately knew his mistake, braced himself, and took the head slap with a little squeak.

Gibbs glared at both Natalie and Tony. "I told you two to keep it _out_ of the office."

Natalie blushed, slightly, as she silently grabbed her badge and weapon.

Tony winced. "Sorry, boss. Won't happen again."

"It will happen again," Gibbs said this time with a chuckle. He grabbed his coffee off his desk and turned to go, "because I know you, DiNozzo, you can't resist her. Next time, just make sure you hide _all_ the evidence."

"Yes, boss," Tony muttered, following Natalie towards the elevator. He rubbed the back of his head as he climbed inside the cab. "You need to stop wearing lipstick."

Natalie smiled at him, sweetly. "Maybe you should wear darker shirts."

Tony glared at her. "Maybe you shouldn't follow me into the women's shower."

She still smiled. "Don't go into the women's shower then."

He growled. "Why do I find you arguing with me like this extremely hot?"

"Because you're always thinking about sex."

"Not true. I think about sex maybe ninety percent of the day."

"What do you think about the other ten percent?"

"Movies."

Natalie gave him a mock glare. "That's why you get into so much trouble with Gibbs. If you devoted a little bit more time to things other than movies and sex—you might not get slapped on the back of the head so much."

Tony moved closer to her, his eyes falling on her lips. "You mean to tell me, Agent Callahan, that there are things in this world other than movies and sex."

She stepped away, laughing. "Yes, Agent DiNozzo, and if we're not careful, we're going to be caught by the wrong person."

He sighed and leaned against the elevator wall. "I know. We have a job to do. We have to go pick up Agent Archer."


	50. Already Know

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** I apologize for the delay on this, I hit a bit of writer's block. This is a smaller update to get the ball rolling again as I know there were a lot of requests to bring it back. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Tony slammed the door to the Charger shut and began walking towards a quaint little ranch house in a quaint little neighborhood. After discovering that Elise Archer had not shown up for work, Tony and Natalie had driven out to her home. "Read a book, dies mysteriously; I'm not buying it," he said as they walked towards the front door.

Natalie glanced at him and tucked her hair behind her right ear. "Why not? If the book had classified information in it, then it's plausible that Commander Casey was murdered for it; to keep it secret."

"It only happens with cursed videotapes, you know, like in that movie _The Ring_ or the original— _Ringu,_ " he said, smiling at her slightly.

"Well, Agent Archer didn't show up for work and isn't answering her phone," she replied as they got closer to the front door. "Maybe the book was cursed."

Tony grinned. "Agent Archer's playing hooky, huh? I would never do that."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

He gave her an easy smile and reached to knock on the door, alerting Archer of their presence, but the smile faded when the door opened with his simple touch. Tony drew his weapon and glanced at his partner, who had drawn hers as well. He nodded and entered the house first. "Elise Archer?"

She went one way, he went the other, checking the rooms as they went. Natalie made it to the living room first and found the body. "Tony."

Tony joined her. In the middle of the floor was Elise Archer, dead from strangulation. He sighed and put his weapon away. "Call Gibbs, then call the FBI."

"Do you believe in cursed books now?" Natalie asked, holstering her weapon and pulling out her phone. "Or do these things still only happen in the movies?"

"Not sure yet; I'm slowly changing my mind," Tony replied, "but I do believe both our victims were killed for this book. We better find the author soon or that person is next."

* * *

Natalie waited outside the house for Gibbs and Fornell to arrive. Once they had discovered Archer's body, they were on the phone with the FBI and Gibbs. It appeared now that their paths had crossed and they were going to need Fornell's help.

Behind her FBI agents moved in and out of the house. Ducky and Palmer had arrived to complete the medical examination and take the body back to NCIS for autopsy. And Tony was _still_ trying to figure out who had invited Gibbs to a wedding.

"Agent Callahan," Fornell greeted when he met up with her. "What have you got so far?"

"Tony and I came to speak to Agent Archer about _Operation Birdsong,_ " Natalie reported. "We found her dead on the living room floor. No signs of foul play; she was choked to death."

"Any signs of forced entry?" Gibbs asked.

"None. The door was open when we arrived," Natalie answered.

Gibbs looked up as Tony strode across the yard to join them. "Did you find the copy of the book?"

Natalie shook her head. "Not really. There appeared to be a book that was burned in the fireplace. It could be ours."

Tony stopped next to his partner, his shoulder brushing against hers. "Agent Archer's husband is an EMT, he was working the overnight shift when the murder occurred. I contacted him. He's on his way home now to answer our questions and identify the body."

"I never met him," Fornell interjected. "Elise always had nice things to say about him."

"What exactly did Elise do for the FBI?" Tony questioned.

"Counterterrorism—joint task," Fornell replied.

"Did she work with DIA?" Natalie asked.

"Sometimes," Fornell said.

Natalie shifted her gaze over to Tony, who looked back at her solemnly before asking, "Was she involved in _Operation Birdsong?_ "

Fornell hardened his look. "I know about as much as you do concerning _Operation Birdsong,_ DiNutso."

Gibbs gently pushed the FBI agent away. "DiNozzo, take Callahan and see if you can find anyone else tied to this operation; seems someone is out to kill them all." He gently moved them along, ignoring the glare from Tony as he went back to the house with Fornell.

Tony took Natalie by the arm and headed towards their car. "I don't buy it. Tobias knows something, he just isn't allowed to say anything to us."

"You always say that about Tobias."

"Well, one of these times I'm going to be right."

Natalie climbed into their car and sighed, waiting for him to get into the driver's seat. Something about the case didn't seem right; at this point she couldn't put her finger on it yet. She watched as a car pulled up and a young man, dressed in an EMT uniform got out. He didn't look like a grieving husband... "Tony, look at that," she said to her partner before he started their car up. "Elise's husband doesn't look too torn up."

Tony paused and followed her eyes. If it was him, he would be devastated that he lost Natalie. Yet, Elise Archer's husband appeared calm. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking," he replied, starting the car up. He didn't wait for her to answer before continuing,"I think Elise Archer's husband knows more than he's letting on..."

She nodded. "Do you think he killed her?"

He shrugged. "Always a possibility. I just know, that if it were me, I wouldn't have been able to drive myself here."

"Shock? Denial?"

"Or, trying to keep cool to cover up his crime."

Tony started the car up and drove off. Glancing over is shoulder at his partner, he said, "Maybe we should be looking into the husband and not the book."

Natalie wasn't that convinced yet. "I thought you were starting to believe the whole idea that there might be a _cursed_ book? This case might not be one of your _the spouse did it_ cases, Tony."

He smiled. "It's always the spouse."

She frowned. "Not always."

"Do I really need to go over our last few cases..."

"No. I get it. _Always_ check the spouse first."

"Just out of curiosity, would you kill me?"

"Well, I'm sure Abby would help me hide the body..."

Tony tossed her a look of mock fear. He knew that she was never hurt him but he also knew that Abby wouldn't hesitate to help her hide his body. "If her husband killed her; we need to find a motivate as to _why._ "

Natalie nodded her head. "And if we find the motivate to why, we might have the motive as to why he killed Lieutenant Commander Casey; he wanted to throw us off, maybe it wasn't about the book at all."

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "I'd still like to see what's in that book."

She smiled. "That's because you're nosy; just like you need to know _who_ invited Gibbs to their wedding."

"If I wasn't nosy I'd make a lousy federal agent, don't you think? I'm paid to be nosy."

"You're going to be fired for being nosy if you keep at it about that wedding."

Tony removed one hand from the wheel and reached for one of hers, bringing it to his lips and giving it a soft kiss. He was more worried about being fired for keeping his marriage to his partner a secret. However, Natalie was worth the risk; she had always been worth the risk.

* * *

Gibbs could sense that Tobias was looking at him while he drove back to NCIS. "No," he said, "I'm not going."

Tobias squirmed in his seat a little. "Of course not; neither am I."

"She was miserable to live with, Tobias," Gibbs said. "Why would you even think about going to her wedding?"

"For Emily," Tobias said with a shrug. "She's pretty upset about it; I don't think she likes the idea of having a stepdad."

"Oh, well, she'll adjust," Gibbs replied, softly. "Could always have DiNozzo talk to her about stepparents."

Tobias frowned. "You mean, the man that had so many stepmothers he lost count? I think Emily will be okay."

Gibbs chuckled. "Once the wedding is over, she'll be better; weddings do things to people."

"DiNozzo sure seems interested in them."

"He's just nosy."

"Sure about that. I overheard Tim say that Tony and Natalie went away for the weekend."

"What are you getting at?"

Tobias smiled, coyly. "I think they got married without you even knowing it."

Gibbs glared at him. "They wouldn't. Tony would know that would result in an automatic transfer from the team. And the team has been working well with the addition of Callahan; he wouldn't put that at risk."

He chuckled. The other agent had noticed the necklace around Natalie's neck, with three rings hanging from it. Now, unless it was some kind of family heirloom, Tobias could only conclude that she was wearing her engagement ring, her wedding band, and Tony's wedding band, around her neck. "Whatever you say, Jethro. We both know how much he loves her."

"Doesn't mean they got married."

"You already know, don't you?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said, smiling.

"How did you figure it so quickly?" Tobias inquired.

Gibbs laughed. "I saw the same damn necklace that you saw, Tobias."

Tobias shook his head. "Unbelievable. Here I thought I finally had one up on you. Since you know, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? It's a violation of policy."

"What Vance doesn't know," Gibbs said, softly, "won't hurt him."


	51. New Case

**Warnings:** Same as usual. Spoilers for S8.

 **A/N:** Apologize for the long wait, so I'll keep this note short: enjoy!

* * *

Tony ended up being right about the spouse and he didn't let Natalie forget about it.

Natalie let him have his moment, because she was tired and he was rather adorable sometimes when he was bragging about the job. He really was a good agent, she figured he was allowed a little wiggle room to boast, even if that boasting had already lasted a few days. So, while Tony boasted about being right, she packed the kitchen up. Move-in day was fast approaching and they had not packed a single thing yet.

After she was done, they stopped by their favorite pizza place and picked up their usual. With everything packed up in the kitchen, there was no way Natalie or Tony was going to be able to cook.

"I'm going to miss this place," Tony said, while munching on pizza as they sat in the living room.

"Our new place will be just as good," Natalie assured him.

Tony leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I know. I have feeling it's going to be even better than this one."

Natalie smiled at him and ran her thumb along his cheek. "It's been a long time coming; I can't wait until we're unpacked and finally in our house, then our new chapter can really start."

He put his empty plate down on the cardboard box they were using as a coffee table. Gently, he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close. Tony could see their life unfolding in their new house, holidays and parties; children playing in the back yard. It was everything he had wanted growing up. "Once we're unpacked, we'll have to have everyone over for dinner."

She agreed just as both their phones buzzed. Sighing, Natalie sat up looking for hers. "At the rate we're going with work, it might take us years to unpack. Gotta go, we have another case."

* * *

Gibbs watched through a spring rain as his agents pulled up to the crime scene. Both were dressed casually in jeans underneath their windbreakers and Natalie's hair was a bit messier than usual. He had overheard her talking about packing the remaining items in their apartment up that night... he felt terrible that the job was pulling them away again.

He had vowed to keep their marriage a secret from Vance until the pair was ready to announce it. Gibbs didn't like change, his team was working well even with Tony and Natalie's relationship and he wasn't about to screw it up. Besides, he was under the impression that his agents worked better now that they were involved.

"Hey boss," Tony greeted, water dripping down the brim of his hat as he held an umbrella over Natalie. "I thought we weren't on call tonight."

"We weren't," Gibbs said. "Until the P2P killer struck again."

"Shouldn't EJ have been called?" Natalie inquired.

Gibbs straightened his shoulders. "Agent Barrett is out of town at the moment. Vance wants us to at least start this investigation until Barrett returns."

Tony glanced at Natalie, saw her jaw twitch. "Boss, EJ isn't going to like it, she isn't going to be happy that she wasn't called in immediately."

"It's not my fault she went out of town," Gibbs snapped. "NCIS has a job to catch this guy. We're the team available."

"Where do want us to start?" Natalie asked, anxiously.

"I want you to observe, take notes, tighten up that profile."

"I'm not sure how much tighter I can get that profile... but I can try."

Gibbs nodded, understanding. "Just make sure you get it done before Barrett is back in D.C and this case is taken away from us. She might not think your opinions are valid but I do."

Natalie swallowed, anxiously. "I'm on it, Gibbs," she said before walking away, out into the drizzle and towards the area where Ducky and Jimmy were hard at work trying to preserve the remains before too much evidence was washed away.

Tony watched her walk away for a moment and then turned back to Gibbs. "Did Vance really hand us this case or did dispatch call you automatically?"

"To be fair, they did try to reach Agent Barrett first," Gibbs said with a slight smile. "However, when they couldn't, they called me. Vance is just going to have to be alright with it I guess."

"Devious," Tony drawled, grabbing his gear and going to join his teammates. "I just hope it doesn't get any of us fired," he muttered underneath his breath.

McGee glanced up through the raindrops at him. "Did you say something?"

Tony shook his head. "Thinking out loud. What have we got?"

The younger agent sighed and looked at their wrapped body. "Same as always with the Port to Port killer. This guy certainly is meticulous with his details and methods."

"Even down to the weird trinket he leaves behind?" the SFA inquired.

"Even down to the weird trinkets he leaves behind," the junior agent replied, holding up a white daisy.

"Any guesses what that means?"

"Something to toy with us?"

"I don't think so," Natalie suddenly spoke up. "I think it's our next clue on where he's going to strike next. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to _toy;_ he manipulates, he plans every last detail out meticulously. Agent Barrett was right about one thing in her profile, the guy does everything for a reason."

Tony frowned. Sure, the port-to-port killer did everything for a reason, they just didn't know the main one-his motive. The killings were sporadic, none of the victims were connected in anyway, other than the fact that they were male. "Nothing about this case makes any sense."

Natalie stood up and wiped her gloved hands over her jeans. "It will all make sense in the end; that is if we ever get to the end. Right now, we're running around in circles and I think that's what the killer wants."

Tim sighed, frustrated. "We should be working together with Barrett on this; why is Vance so insistent that this case doesn't require two teams?"

Both Natalie and Tony blinked, soaking in what Tim had just said. Why hadn't Vance assigned two teams to this case? It was much bigger than any of them imagined. "He's hiding something," the pair said at the same time.

"Geez, you two are now talking in unison," Tim muttered, walking away, "just get married already!"

Even though they knew it was said as a joke, Tony and Natalie both visibly balked. "Don't rush things, Timmy!" the SFA yelled after his partner, then gazed at Natalie, dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "Do you think he knows?"

Natalie shook his head. "Tim is a good agent, but there are still things that he's rather naive about. I'm sure he had no idea." _Gibbs on the other hand..._

"What are our lovebirds whispering about?" Ducky interrupted as he arrived, "Romantic weekend plans perhaps?"

"I wish," Tony said with a grin. "Looks like we could be spending another weekend working."

"Such is the life of a federal agent, I suppose," the M.E mused as he got to work.

Tony glanced at his wife. Since they had married, Tony and Natalie had not had a lot of time alone. It was one case after another, and they both knew it was going to be difficult, however, the knowledge of this didn't make it any easier. "Just think of all the comp time we have coming to us," he said with a little grin.

Natalie turned to go, announcing that she was going to work on updating her profile. "I'm sure Agent Barrett will be thrilled that I'm going to this," she muttered, sarcastically as she proceeded back towards the car. "She was so happy I did it before!"

* * *

By noon of the following day, Natalie had a new profile written up and left it on Barrett's desk, Gibbs had been "scolded" by Vance for taking the case without consulting him first, and Ducky had determined that their latest victim was indeed murdered by the port-to-port killer.

The team had also been handed another case and they found themselves working without any sleep. Natalie found herself in the break room, rummaging around for coffee when she got an unexpected visitor.

"Thank you," someone said above her, startling her slightly.

"For what?" Natalie asked, looking skeptically at E.J.

E.J pushed her hair back. "For the updated profile you left on my desk."

Natalie continued to look at the other skeptically. It wasn't like E.J to thank her for anything; she had pretty much made life difficult for Natalie since she arrived. "Just doing my job," she said with a shrug.

"I didn't make it easy for you."

"I've had it worse, believe it or not."

E.J nodded. "I know; I might have coaxed it out of Tony at some point."

Natalie felt her stomach churn. What was that supposed to mean?

"Don't worry," E.J said, seeing the look of concern come over her face, "nothing happened between us. He's just protective of you and it was...rather easy to get him to fess up about your time in Boston."

"Boston is far behind me now," Natalie confessed, finally giving up looking for coffee. _I found my home here._ "And I've gotten used to Tony's overprotective nature... he's that way about anyone he cares for you."

"Yeah," E.J said as she walked away, "but he _loves_ you, so it's ten times worse."

Natalie watched as she left the break room. E.J was right, Tony was more protective of her than he was Tim or Abby, but he had been that way since she had arrived. She recalled how aggressive he was in Somalia when their captors had tried to hurt her, how he had been willing to sacrifice himself for her, claiming it was _his job._ Had he loved her that long? Had he been in love with her back in Somalia?

She didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it. The team needed coffee and there was a case to be solved. Pondering about the past was just going to have to wait.


End file.
